


Two Weeks at Camp Silver Shield

by StarCrossedKili



Category: Captain America (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Summer Camp, Hijinks & Shenanigans, M/M, Memory Loss, Mutual Pining, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-05-17
Updated: 2016-05-20
Packaged: 2018-03-30 22:42:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 22,332
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3954580
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StarCrossedKili/pseuds/StarCrossedKili
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bucky Barnes doesn't remember spending most of his summers at Camp Silver Shield. After an accident during his army days, he doesn't remember much of anything. He needs the money, though, and Nick Fury is willing to hire him as a Camp Counselor. The last thing Bucky expects is to meet a fellow counselor who claims to know him. He definitely doesn't expect the hot supposed stranger to bring out his competitive side.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Cabin Shuffle

**Author's Note:**

> Hello!  
> Thank you for reading! If there are any glaring problems, please let me know! Enjoy the competitive shenanigans!

The sun wasn’t even up yet and already Bucky was regretting every decision he made. He didn’t belong here. He had been in the army, for crying out loud. He shot people, and they shot back. He cursed worse than a sailor. He hated waking up early. And to top it all off, he was 87% sure he was allergic to fresh air.  
So what the hell was James Buchanan Barnes doing as a Summer Camp Counselor?  
“Remember to get your mailing information to Miss Hill so she knows where to send the check.”  
'Right. That’s why.'  
A tall, dark, and ominous man stood the front of the mess hall, giving out last minute instructions. The counselors had already spent the weekend training and setting up, but Nick Fury never stopped giving out information.  
“The busses should start getting here around eleven-thirty, which gives us a couple hours to run through everything again.” Camp Director Fury stated.  
'Six. It gave them six hours to run through everything', Bucky noted.  
He glanced around the room, tuning out Fury’s prep monologue. He’d already heard it a dozen times. There was a scattering of other counselors sitting quietly, most of them mirroring the same lifeless expression Bucky felt. He was a little surprised to find he didn’t recognize a few of them. After two days of practicing CPR and first aid on the other counselors, he thought he’d become way too acquainted with everyone.  
“You get that, Barnes?” A deep voice brought him back. Bucky rolled his eyes lazily to meet Fury’s.  
“Get what, sleep?” Bucky taunted. “Nah, but that’s kind of you to ask.”  
Fury’s name suited him. He looked positively steaming. “I am trying to run a respected summer camp here, Barnes.”  
'Well then you shouldn’t have hired me…' Bucky sighed. “I apologize. What did I miss?”  
“Miss Hill has the list of children you’ll be responsible for,” Fury glared, “Along with your new cabins.”  
“Wait, I have to move cabins?” Bucky processed. He liked the place he was now; close enough to the showers but far enough from the toilets.  
A few of the other counselors huffed. Obviously Bucky wasn’t the only one upset by this.  
Fury shifted his glare around. “Yes, you all have to move. In order to give every kid their own bed, the counselors will have to share cabins.”  
Maria Hill took the opportunity to step forward, setting down the clipboard she had been scribbling on. “Each campsite has three cabins; a cabin for one team, a cabin for another team, and a cabin for their respective counselors.”  
“If someone says ‘cabin’ one more time I’m gonna lose it.” Bucky groaned, letting his head hit the table.  
“Cabin.”  
Bucky shot up. He didn’t know exactly who said it, but the general murmuring and turned heads pointed to a blonde head. The guy was sitting a couple of tables over, barely tilting his head to catch Bucky’s reaction.  
“Punk…” Bucky chuckled. He’d punch the guy, but then he’d probably lose his job. Plus, it would be a shame to bust a jaw that chiseled...  
“Are you done, Barnes?” Fury directed the attention back.  
“Actually, I have one more question.” Bucky gave one last glance to the blonde before turning to Fury. “What are the kids supposed to call us?”  
Fury looked at Bucky for a second, his eyes narrowing. “Are you serious?”  
“Well, yeah.” Bucky admitted. “I haven’t heard you mention it but I assumed you wanted some sort of uniformity.”  
“Your title and your last name.” Fury decided.  
“Like, Counselor Barnes or Mister Barnes?” Bucky pressed. “Because I’ll be honest, I hate both.”  
“They could always call you Mister James.” Fury suggested sarcastically. “Or Sargent Jimmy.”  
“Mister Barnes it is.” Bucky resigned.  
“Now if we’re all content we can break and prep.” Fury waited a moment for any protests. “Alright, get to it.”  
The room jumped to life as the more chipper counselors rushed to get their orders. Bucky hung back, falling to the end of the line.  
The sun was finally peaking over the mountains as he left the mess wall. The tips of the trees were basking in golden light, the rest of the forest washed in pastels. Bucky was just thankful he didn’t have to use his pathetic excuse of a flashlight to find his way.

The short hike back to his cabin woke him up, the brisk mountain air ignoring that June was supposed to be warm. Bucky was glad he packed some jackets. He didn’t remember much about the time he spent at this camp as a kid, but he remembered it was cold.  
He slung his duffle bag over his right shoulder, flinching as part of the bag hit his left. The cold air certainly wasn’t helping with that mess. If anything, it was making it worse. He swore to take a hot shower to ease those muscles before the kids arrived.  
The new campsite was much farther away than Bucky anticipated. Bronze Shield was the furthest campsite on the map, but he hoped the distance was exaggerated. It wasn’t.  
It took fifteen minutes to walk from his old bunk to the new one. It would have been faster if it wasn’t an up-hill trudge. At least this campsite had its own bathrooms. It would have been a pain to hike down in the middle of the night.  
The scene was set up like Maria described; three small, shabby, wooden structures barely resembling cabins set in a triangle. They were raised off the ground on short stilts in case of flooding, which was apparently a valid threat this time of year. Old, dusty screens served as windows with wooden shutters propped up to air out the room.

A rock was used to prop open the heavy wooden door to the middle cabin. Bucky spotted movements behind the ancient screens. That must be his new place.  
He hopped over the fire pit, walking quickly. He still needed to check over his list of kids to see if any of them had special requests, which would take some time.  
Bucky tapped lightly on the door before stepping in. “Hey, I call the- oh you have got to be kidding me.”  
“Well it’s nice to see you, too.” The blonde guy from earlier chuckled. He was a good few inches taller than Bucky, and a bit bigger around the chest. Bucky prided himself on maintaining his physique, but this punk’s pecs put him to shame.  
“I definitely don’t feel bad about taking the left set of bunks.” Bucky teased as he tossed his bag up.  
“Fine by me.” The guy shrugged. “I was already setting up on this side.”

The room was smaller than Bucky hoped, with only enough room for two sets of bunk beds, a single bed by the front door, and a little space in between. “Hope you don’t snore. Because I do, and I’d hate if neither of us got any sleep.”  
“Don’t worry. If it bothers me too much, I could just smother you with a pillow.” There was a gleam in the guy’s blue eyes that set Bucky on edge. “Do I know you?” He continued.  
Bucky paused. “You mean besides today when you called my bluff?”  
“Yeah, I swear we’ve met before.” His eyes fixed on Bucky, searching for an answer.  
Bucky shrugged. “It’s possible. But chances are I won’t remember.”  
“Is this your first time coming to this camp?” The guy asked.  
Bucky shifted, taking a small step back. “As a counselor, yes. But I was here as a kid for a few summers.”  
“Oh!” The guy snapped. “I know! You’re Bucky, aren’t you? Bucky Barnes.”  
Bucky’s brow furrowed at the mention of his childhood nickname. “I haven’t heard anyone call me that in a while.”  
“So it is you?” The guy smiled. “I almost didn’t recognize you with the long hair and stubble.”  
“Yeah, it’s easier to maintain a scruffy look.” Bucky chuckled, playing off his discomfort.  
After his accident, when he went home to recuperate, this sort of thing happened a lot. People would come up to him and talk to him like a friend, and he had no idea who they were. Bucky at least remembered Fury, which made it easier to get this job.  
“I’m guessing you don’t remember me?” The guy offered, smirking.  
Bucky smiled apologetically. “Don’t take it personally. I forgot almost everyone.”  
“Don’t worry about it. Even if you did remember me, you wouldn’t recognize me.” He shrugged.  
“Are you gonna tell me your name, at least?” Bucky asked, leaning against his bunk.  
“Oh, yeah! Sorry!” The guy held out his hand, the act alone filling most of the empty space. “I’m Steve. Steve Rogers. “Nice to meet you again, Mister Barnes.”  
Bucky took Steve’s hand. “Nice to meet you again too, Mister…” he bit his lip, a snicker escaping.  
Steve chuckled. “Yeah, laugh it up. The kids will be calling me Mister Rogers for the next two weeks. I’ve made my peace.”  
Bucky tried to stifle his laughter. “I can’t call you that with a straight face. Please don’t make me.”  
“Then call me Steve. We’re adults, Bucky.” Steve rolled his eyes. “Not that ‘Bucky’ is a very grown up name…”  
“Watch it, punk.” Bucky tightened his grip on Steve’s hand teasingly.  
Steve didn’t seem to notice. “You haven’t changed.” There was a gentle smile resting on his lips that seemed infectious. Bucky realized he was smiling too.  
“It that a good thing or a bad thing?”  
“A good thing.” Steve replied. “In my opinion. But then again my scrawny kid self always did think you were cool. I never figured out why, though. You were sort of a jerk.” He winked.  
“Thanks for the vote of confidence, Steve.” Bucky realized he was still holding on to the other man’s hand and dropped it, covering with a mock salute.  
“Sure thing, Buck.” Steve returned the motion, turning back to his bunk.  
Bucky stared at his apparently old acquaintance. He was disappointed in himself for forgetting anybody with an ass like that…  
He mentally kicked himself. 'You’re a camp counselor now, Barnes! You can’t check out the other counselors!'  
“Did you look over your packet yet?” Steve asked over his shoulder. Bucky snapped his eyes up, all too willing to pretend that last thought didn’t happen.  
“No, I wanted to get settled first.” He explained.  
“Apparently my group has brothers with a history of not getting along.” Steve recites, opening up his folder. “No allergies, though. That’s nice.”  
Bucky picked up his folder with curiosity. “Let’s see… Oh wow.”  
Steve stepped next to Bucky, examining the folder. “What is it?”  
“This kid takes up half of the folder by himself.” Bucky chuckled. “Whoever Anthony Stark is, I think I’m going to like him.”  
“The kid is fifteen and already takes college classes…” Steve read, slightly awed.  
“That’s nice and all, but I was looking at the ‘prone to outlandish behavior’ and ‘doesn’t play well with others’. That’s what everyone tells me I was like as a kid.”  
“You weren’t outlandish.” Steve shrugged. “You were talkative, that’s for sure. And you could make friends with anyone, you just chose not to.”  
Bucky pondered that information. “Were we friends, Steve?”  
“I liked to think so.” Steve smiled. “I was a shrimp who didn’t know when to back down and you were a tough guy always looking for a fight.”  
“Sounds about right.” Bucky shrugged. “Sorry I don’t remember it.”  
“It’s fine.” Steve patted his shoulder. Bucky tried his hardest not to wince. “Did you join a football team and get a bunch of concussions or something?”  
Bucky paused at the question. “No, I uh… I fell off a train.”  
Steve raised his eyebrows. “Oh! Wow! I’m sorry.”  
“Yeah, I was on an army mission. We needed to stop the train and the other guys really didn’t want us to.” Bucky tried to smile.  
Steve hesitated. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked.”  
“No, Steve, it’s fine.” Bucky stopped him. “Friends are allowed to ask questions. And we’re friends, right?”  
“Sure we are, Bucky.” Steve grinned. “We should really get back to the mess hall. Fury wants to run fire drills again.”  
“After you, Mister Rogers!” Bucky gestured grandly towards the door.  
“Jerk.” Steve chuckled as he walked out.  
“Punk.” Bucky smirked, definitely not checking Steve out again.


	2. Meet the Campers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve and Bucky meet the kids they're going to be stuck with for the duration of camp.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!  
> If there are any glaring errors, please let me know! Enjoy!

Bucky was ready to collapse. He didn’t expect the final run through to involve so much actual running. That was entirely Steve’s fault, though.  
“You’re slowing down, Bucky!” Steve called over his shoulder. “If you don’t pick up the pace, that poor log might not make it!”  
“Slow and steady, my friend.” Bucky countered, shifting the log in question to his other arm. Fury wanted to make sure all of his counselors could carry kids to the medic bay is case of snake bites or sprained ankles.  
Steve turned, walking backward. His log was tucked safely under his arm. “I prefer fast and focused. You might want to pick up the pace, or I’m definitely going to win.”  
“Oh I’m sorry, are we racing?” Bucky smirked, walking a little faster.  
“Now we are!” Steve winked before sprinting towards the nurse’s quarters.  
“Son of a…” Bucky grinned before taking off after his challenger.  
Steve was a worthy opponent. Bucky really had to push himself to keep up. It didn’t help that Fury gave him an extra heavy log.  
Bucky cursed the inconvenience of everything as he gained on Steve; the glaring sun, the dirt path, and Steve’s fantastic form. Which made it difficult for Bucky to pass him. That, and the fact that Steve was fast.  
Steve had already set his log on the small pile by the time Bucky reached the finish line. “What took you so long?” He taunted, plucking Bucky’s log and tossing it with the rest.  
“This doesn’t count, you got a head start.” Bucky focused on controlling his breathing. Steve hadn’t even broken a sweat; he couldn’t know how drained Bucky was.  
“Oh I’m sorry, do you want a rematch?” Steve chuckled. “We could race back. I’ll be honest; it feels pretty good to finally beat Bucky Barnes at something. I could do it all day.”  
“Was I competitive brat?” Bucky pouted, hiding his grin.  
“That would be an understatement. I was lucky we were in the same group every year, or there would have been a real rivalry in this camp.” Steve smirked. “We made a pretty dangerous team.”  
Bucky squinted at the chiseled face, searching those blue eyes. There was something itching at the back of his mind, a faint whisper. “Were we?”  
“Hey fellas.” A head of fiery hair poked out from the medic quarters. “Fury made the call, the first busses are arriving.” She conveyed.   
“Thank you, Natasha.” Steve smiled. “So what do you say, Buck? Feel like racing back?”  
“You’re on, punk.” Bucky winked before bolting down the path, leaving Steve behind to laugh in the dust.  
*  
Somehow, Steve still won. It was a close race, but at the last second Steve managed to snag the lead.  
“This isn’t over, Rogers.” Bucky panted. “Mark my words.”  
Steve grinned. “Come on, Barnes. I don’t want to embarrass you anymore.”  
“Kiss my a -”   
“Welcome to Camp Silver Shield!” Fury boomed as the first kids stepped off. Steve stood at attention, failing to hide his smirk. Bucky straightened up next to him.  
“Is it just me, or do these kids look miserable?” Bucky leaned over and whispered to Steve.  
“They were stuck in a bus for hours so they could go to a summer camp they probably didn’t want to attend.” Steve explained. “I was miserable my first day, too.”  
“How many times did you come here?” Bucky asked.  
Steve glanced at Bucky. “Six. Every year since I was ten. Thankfully the age limit stopped at sixteen, or I probably would have been sent again.”  
“How many times did I come?” Bucky wondered, mostly to himself. He didn’t expect Steve to reply.  
“Five. You were eleven when you first attended.”  
Bucky shifted to get a better look at Steve. “You’re handy to have around. I’m glad one of us remembers the joys of summer camp.”  
Fury’s shout broke through the general noise of conversation. “When you hear your name called, go stand by whoever shouted it. They will be your counselor.”  
About fifty kids huddled in a group, waiting. One by one, the counselors stepped forward to call out names.  
Steve went before Bucky, taking the list out of his pocket. “Alright. In this group, I have Sam Wilson. Thor Odinson. Loki Laufeyson. Did I say that right?” Steve paused as a toothpick of a kid walked forward, his pitch black hair adding to his severe expression. He nodded, sighing as Thor scooped him up in a hug.  
Those must be the brothers. Bucky noted.  
Steve cleared his throat before continuing. “I also have Clint Barton. And last but not least, Phil Coulson.” Steve looked up from his list to meet his last member. The guy stepping forward barely looked like a teen, with an executive haircut and khakis.   
“That’s quite the ensemble you have there, Steve.” Bucky taunted.  
Steve eyed him. “Yeah, like your team is going to be any better.”  
Bucky raised an eyebrow. “Let’s find out, huh?” He stepped up. “Alright, kiddos, my turn. Is there a Bruce Banner? James Rhodes? Hey, same first name!” Bucky held out his hand for a high five as the kid sauntered over.  
“I go by Rhodey.” The guy smiled, tapping Bucky’s hand.  
“Sure thing, Rhodey.” Bucky continued. “Pietro Maximoff? You’re with me. Peter Parker…” Bucky paused. He knew Peter was the youngest of his group at twelve, but he didn’t expect someone so scrawny. Who did that remind him of…  
“You’re not going to get our names confused, are you?” Pietro scoffed, bringing Bucky back.  
“Who, you and Peter?” Bucky turned to Pietro. The kid was rocking smudged eyeliner and black clothes in June. That, coupled with the dark roots peeking through his bleached hair, Bucky was sure he had a different name. “Do you want to be called something else?”  
“I’d prefer Maximoff, considering you can barely pronounce my first name.” He taunted raising an eyebrow in challenge.  
“Whatever you want, Maxi.” Bucky grinned. Before Pietro could argue, he turned back to the group. “Last! Anthony Stark! Come on over, kid.”  
A shorter guy sprung from the crowd of kids. “Call me Tony, alright? Nobody but my mother calls me Anthony.” He had the makings of a goatee around his chin, a shock of black emphasizing his speech.  
“Fine by me.” Bucky glanced over his group. Tony apparently knew Rhodey, and was familiar with Bruce. The three were serial campers, this being their third or fourth time. Pietro and Peter both stood a little awkwardly to the side.  
“Should we introduce the groups to each other?” Bucky almost jumped as Steve whispered to him.  
“I don’t know…” Bucky feigned thought. “If they start making friends with each other, it might make it hard for my team to beat your team in every conceivable way.”  
Steve chuckled. “Haven’t you heard ‘keep your friends close and your enemies closer’? Come on Buck.”  
“We have to herd them back to the campsite, right?” Bucky recalled. “We can have a little meet and greet around the fire pit after they’re settled.”  
“Sounds good to me.” Steve smiled before turning back to his group. “Alright guys, let’s go! Follow me.”  
Bucky let Steve’s team get a little further away before addressing his own rag-tag troop. “Let’s go, kiddos.”  
“Kiddos? Really?” Tony frowned. “Doesn’t seem right from you.”  
“Who is the guy in charge here?” Bucky pondered mockingly. “Is it the fifteen year old nerd with a patchy beard, or the adult man who can say whatever he wants?”  
“I’m just saying, we’re a little old for that.” Tony raised his hands. “Brucy here agrees, don’t you Bruce?”  
The kid pushed his curly black hair back. “Leave me out of this one, Tony.”  
“Can we just get to the cabins, now?” Pietro interrupted. “Surely we have better thing to do than stand around and argue.”  
“Thank you, Maximoff.” Bucky sighed. “Let’s walk. We have something very important to discuss.”  
“What is it?” Bucky almost missed Peter’s question. The kid was as mousey as they get, almost trampled by the older kids.  
Bucky turned to the kids, a gleam in his eye. “Our team name.”  
Peter’s eyes lit up. God, that kid was precious.  
“It’s gotta be cool.” Rhodey pointed out. “And a little menacing.”  
“As long as it’s not ‘wildcats’ or something stupid like that, I don’t care.” Pietro admitted.  
“I think we have to go with Wildcats now.” Tony taunted, earning a darkened glare from his target.  
“How about Skulls?” Bruce offered. “It’s a little short, but Skulls are cool.”  
“I like that.” Rhodey agreed. “But it should have something before it.”  
“Bleeding Skulls?” Pietro suggested sarcastically.  
Bucky stopped that train of thought. “Let’s keep it PG, guys. No skull bashing.”   
“I have an idea…” Peter chipped in. He froze as all eyes turned to him.  
“Don’t be shy, kid.” Tony nudged his shoulder. “Us big kids don’t bite.”  
Peter cleared his throat, standing a little taller. “Well I thought it would be cool if we were…”

“The Howling Skulls.” Bucky announced proudly to Steve, posing for effect.  
The two were back in their cabin, giving the kids time to get settled in their respective cabins. Steve’s team had already infested the hut to the right, so Bucky’s kids took over the left one.  
“Howling Skulls?” Steve chuckled. “Neat. Not as cool as my team’s name, but it’s alright.”  
“Hey, don’t hate. We have a battle cry and everything.” Bucky puffed out his chest. Everyone agreed that Peter’s suggestion was cool enough, especially after Rhodey added the battle cry. It was just howling, but still.  
“Was that the noise we heard?” Steve laughed. “My kids thought some poor animal was being killed.”  
“No, just five awesome kids getting pumped up for battle.” Bucky winked. “What name did your kids pick?”  
Steve shrugged nonchalantly, tilting his head. “Red Avengers. Not as dramatic as Howling Skulls, but we can both agree it’s much cooler.”  
Bucky chuckled. “Red Avengers? Who suggested that?”  
“Well I might have mentioned the rivalry between you and I and how I’m starting to pay you back for always winning.” Steve admitted. “Phil suggested Avengers, and Thor thought adding ‘Red’ to it would be perfect.”  
“It’s not a bad name.” Bucky hummed. “Not as amazing as ‘Howling Skulls’, but it’s perfect for your team.”  
Steve rolled his eyes before changing the subject. “Hey, Peter was the twelve year old, right?”  
“Yeah, that’ him.” Bucky nodded. “He’s a spidery little thing.” He paused.  
“Do you think he’ll be ok with older kids?” Steve asked.  
Bucky shrugged. “I haven’t noticed a problem yet. They’ve been nice to him so far. Bruce even carried one of his bags.” Bucky frowned. “I think he reminds me of you.”  
Steve looked shocked. “Who, Bruce?”  
“No, Peter.” Bucky corrected. “I knew he reminded me of someone when I called him up, but I wasn’t quite sure.”  
“It’s possible.” Steve shrugged. “He’s about as tall as I was every year.”  
“No way.” Bucky called. “You were that short every year? Then you had one helluva growth spurt.” He looked Steve up and down, eventually meeting his blue eyes.  
“Yeah, eighteen was a good year for me.” Steve chuckled.  
Bucky stood there for a second, fighting with his mind. “I swear, it’s there. I can almost remember…”  
“Hey, Bucky.” Steve closed the distance between them, resting a hand on his good shoulder. “It’s fine. Really, I’m not offended or anything. Don’t push yourself for my sake.”  
Bucky held his breath. Those eyes. He remembered those eyes. “It’s annoying, that’s all. Constantly having the lingering feeling that you forgot something really important. In my case, I definitely forgot some really important things.” He chuckled.  
“Yeah, but a few weeks at a summer camp aren’t important.” Steve smiled sadly.  
A loud rap on the door made Bucky jump back. He could feel his face get a little red. But they weren’t doing anything wrong, why should he be embarrassed?  
“Hey, Phil.” Steve didn’t miss a beat, addressing the newcomer. Of course that didn’t bother him. “What is everyone ready?”  
“Everyone from Red Avengers is settled.” He reported. “Do you want us to stay in the cabin?”  
“Thanks. I’ll be out in a second. Can you get everyone around the fire pit?” Steve requested.  
“Yes sir.” Phil nodded, leaving as quickly as he arrived.  
Steve stared towards the closing door. “That kid is such a kiss-ass.”  
Bucky snorted.


	3. Camp Rules

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Conflict brews for the new teams.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I changed the rating for mild cursing.  
> Let me know if you find any errors! Enjoy!

“Good lord, you guys shouldn’t take this long to pick bunks.” Bucky groaned.

            “Look, as soon as Timberlake here stops complaining, we’ll be fine.” Tony explained, nudging a very offended Pietro.

            “I called a top bunk when we saw the cabin.” Pietro defended.

            Rhodey lifted his head from his hands. “Dude. I told you I would switch bunks with you. Just take my top bunk.”

            “I don’t want your bunk.” Pietro scoffed. “You called the other one. I respect that. Unlike this jerk.”

            Bucky leaned against the wall, exasperated. The set- up of this cabin was identical to the one he shared with Steve: a single room with two bunk beds and a single bed. Bruce was comfortably seated on a bottom bunk, watching the scene with amusement. Peter occupied the single bed by the door. Bucky almost felt bad for the kid, having to deal with this nonsense.

            “Alright, I’m settling this.” Bucky held up his hands. “Whoever takes the other top bunk also volunteers to clean the bathrooms on the last day.”

            “What?” Petro protested. “We have to clean?”

            “We sure do, buddy.” Tony’s face sank. “Leave a place cleaner than you found it and whatever.”

            The two glared at each other for a moment, weighing their options.

            “I’ll back down.” Tony finally decided. “I cleaned the toilets last time I was here. Not fun.”

            Pietro smirked, tossing his bag up to claim his bunk. “I’m sure I can handle it.”

            “Finally.” Bucky rolled his eyes. “Now if everyone’s content with their sleeping arrangements, we have to get back to the main site.”

            “What’s on the agenda, boss?” Tony leaned against the bunk.

            Bucky furrowed his brow, trying to remember what Fury had planned. “Lunch, some sort of orientation thing, a hike, dinner, and then back to the cabins.”

            “Sounds fun…” Pietro huffed, grimacing.

            Rhodey chuckled. “That’s not even the worst of it. At the start of the second week, we have to ditch our cabins and spend two days roughin’ it in the wild.”

            Peter shrank. “Really?”

            “Don’t worry about it, Peter.” Bruce smiled, his voice calming the startled kid. “They send us with enough supplies for a week.”

            Tony sighed. “If you can call dehydrated packets supplies. That stuff is disgusting.”

            “Come on, they weren’t that bad.” Bucky chuckled. “I remember-” He stopped, realizing what he said.

 

 

>             He remembered sitting in the middle of the forest, chewing on what was supposed to be jerky.
> 
>             “Come on, Bucky!” A small voice laughed next to him. “It’s what the astronauts eat!”
> 
>             “Then I’m never going to be an astronaut.” Bucky frowns. “This is gross.”
> 
>             “We’ll have actual food tonight; we just have to make it through the day.” The small voice insisted.
> 
>             “God, Steve. You’re such an optimist.” Bucky ruffles the hair of the small guy next to him. “It’s a wonder you stick next to a pessimist like me.”

 

            “Mister Barnes?” A small hand reached out, tapping Bucky’s left shoulder.

            “Fuck!” Bucky shouts, flinching. “Oh! God! I’m sorry, Peter.” He kneels down to meet the terrified boy’s eyes. “I’m sorry.”

            “You were sort of zoning out there, Boss.” Tony stated carefully.

            Bucky stood to look over the rest of the group, meeting eyes burning with curiosity. “Yeah, I do that sometimes. Don’t worry about it.” He shifted. “And for the record, avoid my left arm. It’s a bit sensitive and I’ve got a nasty reflex.”

            “Why is it sensitive?” Pietro questioned, narrowing his eyes.

            Bucky sighed. “Tell you what; if you kids behave today I’ll give you all the grisly details. Deal?” He smirked at the collective fluster of nods. “Great. Now get outside, ok? Wait by the fire pit.”

            The group hustled outside. Before the door was even shut, they were guessing what could have happened to their leader.

            “I bet he got shot.”

            “Probably a wolf attack.”

            “Car accident?”

            Bucky chuckled as the heavy wooden door finally closed, cutting off the noise. Those kids…

            He reached over to loosen the growing tension in his left shoulder. He didn’t get a chance to grab a hot shower; he spent the whole morning with Steve.

            Steve.

            He remembered Steve. Even if it was only a fragment, a whisper of a memory, it was something.

            With a sigh, he opened the door. The day wasn’t even half over and all he wanted to do was sleep.

 

            Bucky walked outside, blinking in the direct sunlight. It was quite a scene.

            Steve was standing by the fire pit, his campers lined up nice and neat. He must have been saying something important, but none of the kids were paying much attention besides Phil. Their attentions were caught by the Howling Skulls and their boisterous theories.

            Tony had the floor. “Who wants to bet the mafia broke his arm after he couldn’t pay up? Any takers?”

            “He does look a little mafia…” Pietro shrugged. “But he looks more like the guy to break arms, not let others break his.”

            “I don’t know. I’m still going with bear attack.” Rhodey crossed his arms. “He said grisly’. Like Grizzly Bear.”

            “That’s a bit of a leap, don’t you think?” Bruce interjected. “It could be a medical condition and you all are blowing it out of proportion.”

            “No way.” Tony protested. “He cussed. That means trauma.”

            Bucky approached the group. “Well you’re not wrong, Stark. But shut up, you’re distracting the Red Avengers.”

            The Howling Skulls whipped around to face the other team, noticing for the first time that they had company. Steve had given up trying to talk to his kids, and instead watched the commotion with an amused smile.

            “You’re all wrong by the way.” Steve chuckled.

            “But I might start telling people it was a bear attack.” Bucky joined. “That is pretty cool.”

            Rhodey nudged Tony, grinning. “See?”

            Tony ignored his friend, addressing Steve. “So you know what happened to Mister Barnes’ arm?”

            “I have a pretty good idea.” Steve smirked. “Is he not telling you?”

            “It’s a bribe to behave.” Bucky explained. “If they play nice they get a bedtime story.”

            “That’s a pretty smart tactic.” Steve laughed. He looked like he was going to add something, but Phil approached him.

            “Sir, it’s time for us to be at the main camp.” He reminded much to the annoyance of his team members.

            “Come on, Phil.” The guy with short, messy hair complained. “It was just getting good.” Bucky remembered his name was Clint.

            “Mister Rogers.” The blonde one with a patchy teenage beard boomed. “Will you at least tell us what happened?”

            The dark twig next to him nudged him. “Thor, be polite. It’s not Mister Rogers’ story to tell.”

            “Thank you, Loki.” Steve nodded. “If you guys want to know the story, you’ll have to ask Mister Barnes.”

            “Can we?” The dark skinned boy turned to face Bucky. “Will you tell us when you tell them?” Sam, Bucky recalled.

            “If Steve says it’s ok.” Bucky shrugged. “I’m not shy.” He paused, noting the slight confusion. “Oh, sorry, if Mister Rogers… God, I’m sorry.” He couldn’t help but laugh.

            “Shut up.” Steve teased. “Alright, Red Avengers! Let’s go!” He led his team away from the campsite.

            “Follow them, guys!” Bucky ordered less enthusiastically before jogging to catch up with Steve.

            “You’re still a jerk.” Steve smiled as Bucky approached him.

            “What, because I have a cool war story to tell and you don’t?” Bucky pouted.

            Steve rolled his eyes. “You’re going to be their favorite now. Even my own team will turn on me. All because you have a secret.” He sighed dramatically.

            “Oh come on.” Bucky nudged him. “They’ll get sick of my shenanigans sooner or later. Especially when they find out how mean I am in the mornings.”

            Steve chuckled. “I know that all too well. There was this one time after the wilderness survival trial that you socked one of our group members for trying to wake you up.”

            “I wouldn’t be surprised.” Bucky hummed. “After two days of eating nothing but stringy jerky and wandering around aimlessly, what else could you expect?”

            Steve glanced at Bucky out of the corner of his eye. “They only had jerky one year. A vegetarian complained and they had to switch it back to canned food next year.”

            “I don’t remember that.” Bucky admitted. “But I did remember you calling the jerky ‘astronaut food’. When was that?” He turned his head to find Steve smiling like an idiot. Bucky felt his heart beat a little faster. Steve was gorgeous when he smiled.

            “We were fourteen.” He grinned. “You remembered something.”

            Bucky returned the smile. “It’s not much, but it’s a start.”

            “It’s a start.” Steve repeated, nudging his friend.

 

**

            ‘What, because I have a cool war story and you don’t?’

            Loki hovered behind the counselors for a moment, waiting to see if they would drop any more information. After it was apparent they switched topics, he fell back. There were very few times he was thankful for his slight frame, but he had to admit it was perfect for sneaking around.

            The rest of the campers were maintaining a safe distance, with Phil standing as close to his precious leader as he dared. The rest of the Red Avengers had huddled together as Thor regaled them with one of their home country’s fairy tales. Loki frowned.

            It was already apparent that the Red Avengers wasn’t going to be a place of comfort for Loki. He was cautious as he joined the same team as his step brother, but he at least hoped to make an ally.

            He ruled out Phil Coulson after the boy displayed complete devotion to Mister Rogers after seconds of command.

            Clint Barton seemed a likely candidate, with his quick wit and sarcasm, but Thor got to him first.

            That just left Sam Wilson, who appeared too laid back to understand the need for an ally.

            No, Loki had already decided the Red Avengers was not the place for him. The Howling Skulls, on the other hand…

            “It’s a war injury.” Loki stated bluntly, approaching the small group.

            “What?” The guy with the adorably patchy goatee stopped his previous conversation to address Loki.

            “Whatever happened to Mister Barnes was a war injury.” Loki repeated, shifting as those dark eyes settled on him. “He mentioned it to Mister Rogers.”

            The goatee’d guy cracked a crooked grin. “Well isn’t that something. What’s your name?”

            “I am Loki.” He replied.

            “Tony.” He held out his hand. “Nice to meet you, Loki. Think you could keep this information on the down low?”

            Loki nodded, shaking Tony’s hand. “Of course.”

            “Good.” Toy winked. “Loki, I think you and I are going to get along just fine.”

 

**

 

            “They can’t seriously think this is food.” Pietro poked what looked like mashed potatoes, grimacing.

            “They have a small army of kids to feed.” Bucky explained, examining a green form on his plate. “I think they’re going for quantity over quality.”

            “You know about feeding armies?” Tony asked innocently, chewing on a piece of meat.

            “It’s an expression, Stark.” Bucky glared, daring to take a bite of the mush.

            The team was sat at their own table in the back of the mess hall. Bucky took one look at the tables designated for counselors and opted to stick with his group. Those guys were way too cheerful. Steve seemed to agree, he occupied the end chair with his own troop.

            “So you haven’t ever enlisted in any combat service?” Tony pestered.

            Bucky set down his fork, narrowing his eyes at the kid. “If this is your plan to get the story out of me it ain’t gonna work.”

            Tony shrugged. “It was worth a try.”

            “Shut up and eat your steak.” Bucky chuckled.

            “I’m not so sure it’s steak…” Peter warned, poking his own specimen warily.

            “I’d say I feel sorry for you all, but I don’t.” Bruce taunted, his own vegetarian meal looking more appetizing than Bucky thought possible.

            “You all are weak.” Rhodey teased through a spoonful of potatoes.

            “Rhodey, you ate ants the first time you came here.” Tony reminded with a gleam in his eye.

            “I was ten!” He protested. “And you were the one who dared me to!”

            Tony hummed. “True. That was one wild game.”

            “Hurry up and eat.” Bucky instructed. “Director Fury is starting to pace, and you don’t want to keep a man like him waiting.”

            Peter leaned towards Bucky. “Did he lose his eye the same way you hurt your arm?”

            Bucky shook his head. “Unrelated. But it certainly makes him scary lookin’.”

            The kid nodded solemnly, staring at the Director.

            “Just finish up so he can start his orientation or whatever.” Bucky insisted, taking another bite. He wasn’t really thinking about food. He was just hoping he could snag a seat next to Steve.


	4. Hike from Hell

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Howling Skulls set off on their first challenge, but it doesn't exactly go the way they wanted. Hope no one is afraid of heights...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! If you notice any errors, please let me know.  
> Enjoy!

“This is it. I’m going to die.”

            “You’re fine.”

            “You don’t know that, Steve.”

            “Bucky, you’re fine.” Steve rolled his eyes, chuckling. “Sit up straight. You’re setting a bad example.”

            Bucky groaned. “The kids can’t even see me. They’re all the way up there.”

            Steve smirked. “Then sit up straight because Fury is glaring at you.”

            Bucky glanced up, locking eyes to eye with the Director. “Well fuck.” He whispered, adjusting his position and smiling cheesily. Fury raised an eyebrow, but continued on with his speech.

            “I feel a little sorry for these kids.” Steve sighed. “I always hated Fury’s ‘hellfire and brimstone’ spiel.”

            “Yeah, he seems a little dramatic…” Bucky noted. Fury had spent the last five minutes listing every single item that he considered contraband. Bucky was surprised to find out razors, shaving cream, and chewing gum on the list.

            “He has to be.” Steve shrugged. “Kids pay attention more if they think it’s a life or death situation.”

            “What kind of camp is this…?” Bucky chuckled.

            Steve elbowed him. “The best kind.”

            Bucky rolled his eyes, turning his attention to the front of the room, where all the kids were gathered before Director Fury. The orientation had gone on for what seemed like forever. The counselors were all sitting in the back, already knowing every line Fury was spouting. The rules had been drilled into their heads on their first day, this speech was old news.

            “How much longer is this going to last?” Bucky leaned towards Steve. “He can’t seriously go on much longer.”

            “I almost envy you.” Steve sighed wistfully. “You don’t remember how long orientation is.”

            “I’m starting to get an idea…” Bucky groaned, slouching down again.

            Steve leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. Bucky glanced through fallen strands of hair, inconspicuously checking out the line of Steve’s bicep. ‘Stop it, Bucky. Wrong place, wrong time.’ He mentally kicked himself.

            “At least we get to hike after this.” Steve noted with a smile.

            Bucky frowned. “Because that is so much better…”

            “Come on, we can make it fun.” Steve nudged him. “My team against yours.”

            “How are we going to turn a hike into a competition?” Bucky raised an eyebrow.

            Steve pondered. “Well the point of the hike is to clear the tags they set up last camp, right?” He started. “How about a race? Whichever team clears their tags and makes it back to the camp first wins.”

            Bucky leaned back in his chair, groaning. “Come on, more racing? I’m already exhausted.”

            Steve smiled. “You don’t have to race, your team does. I thought that was our deal?”

            “Yeah, but I still have to walk with them.” Bucky complained.

            “Don’t worry; they’ll do all the hard work.” Steve teased, wrapping an arm around Bucky, squeezing his right shoulder.

            Bucky chuckled. “I’ll hold you to that.”

            Steve’s arm lingered around him for a second, resting lightly on the back of his chair. It was oddly comforting. Bucky hadn’t really had much human contact since his accident. Sure, the occasional doctor poke his arm to make sure it wouldn’t fall off, and a few older family members would pat his hand, but other than that no one got too close to him.

            The contact was nice, even if it was just a hand around his shoulders. Bucky cursed himself again for forgetting so much, an act that had practically become ritual. Steve and Bucky had been close enough in the past that Steve was comfortable in close proximity with the ex-soldier, and Bucky wanted nothing more than to share that feeling. Maybe even get a little closer…

            Bucky bit his lip. ‘Stop. Don’t do this to yourself.’ His inner voice shouted.

            “You ok?” Steve asked, removing his arm. Bucky mourned the loss. “I didn’t hurt you, did I?”

            “Oh! No, don’t worry.” Bucky played it off. “Come on, Rogers. I’m tougher than that.”

            “If you say so.” Steve shrugged. “You got all stiff.”

            ‘You have no idea…” Bucky instantly regretted thinking that. He cleared his throat. “Fury looked at me again.” He covered. “That guy has enough menace to send shivers down a Navy Seal’s spine.”

            “Tell me about it.” Steve frowned, glancing back at the Director. “Huh. This is new.”

            “What?” Bucky tuned in to the speech.

            Director Fury had stopped pacing, planting himself in front of the kids. “There will also be absolutely no tolerance for bullying based on sexual or gender orientation. If I catch wind of anyone participating is such actions, the least amount of punishment will be a one way ticket home.” Fury hissed.

            “This is new?” Bucky asked.

            “He didn’t have that when we went here.” Steve recalled. “He was always strict about bullying, especially ethnic and religious, but he must have added this since we were last here.”

            Bucky frowned. “He’s mentioned sexual harassment, right? So it’s not like he’s left it out entirely.”

            “It’s different…” Steve trailed off, his jaw set.

            “Yeah, I guess it is.” Bucky examined his friend’s face. He looked a little too serious for the topic to not be personal. Could Steve be…?

            “I think he’s about done.” The edge eased off Steve’s voice as he nodded towards Fury.

            “Hmm? Oh, good.” Bucky shook off the lingering feelings.

            Fury’s voice boomed. “Counselors, come up here and pick a tag color.”

            Bucky walked up with Steve, stopping to consult with team.

            “What do you say, guys?” Bucky knelt next to the Howling Skulls. “What color should we snag?”

            “Red?” Tony suggested.

            “Nah.” Pietro vetoed. “The Red Avengers have more claim to that.”

            “Blue’s a nice color, if they have it.” Peter stated.

            Rhodey nodded. “Blue seems pretty good.”

            “Fine by me.” Bruce chimed in.

            “Majority votes blue!” Bucky announces to Fury.

            The Director stared back, only a slightly glaring. “Better get up here and claim it, then.”

            “Stay put, kiddos.” Bucky pointed, jumping over to Fury. “Are you gonna give us headbands or something?”

            “No, because you’re a grown ass man.” Fury huffed.

            “It’s for the kids!” Bucky whined, pouting dramatically.

            “Shut up and sign up.” The Director took a clipboard from Steve and handed it to Bucky.

            “Red is already spoken for.” Steve smirked.

            Bucky winked. “Yeah, we thought you’d want that. So us Howling Skulls went for a cooler color. Blue.” He signed his name next to the color with a flourish.

            “Hey, the Red Avengers like consistency.” Steve shrugged.

            Fury sighed. “It hasn’t even been a full day and already you two have named your teams and created a rivalry.” He shook his head, not really disappointed. More amused than anything. “I don’t know what else I should have expected from you two.”

            Bucky pondered that. He remembered Fury in flashes. He recalled yelling, and orders, but it was all positive. Which was more than he could say about most of his other memories, where the yelling and orders were followed by bright flashes and pain.

            “What can I say?” Steve shrugged. “Old habits die hard.”

            “Even ones you didn’t know you had.” Bucky mutters to himself. He hands the clipboard back to Fury, looking up. He definitely doesn’t expect to get hit with the full force of Steve’s baby blues.

            “I’m sorry, Buck…” Steve started.

            “For what?” Bucky chuckled. “I’m fine, Steve. You don’t need to treat me like a time bomb, ok?”

            Steve locked his eyes on Bucky for a second, his eyebrows furrowing.

            “Can you boys work this out later?” Fury interrupted, ending the staring contest. “Believe it or not, this camp does not revolve around your childhood friendship.”

            “What are you talking about?” Bucky pouted. “Of course it does.” He winked at Steve, a little shaken, before returning to his group.

            “What are we betting?” Pietro whispered, not quiet enough. “Because car crash seems pretty bet worthy.”

            “Dessert.” Tony whispered back. “Nothing too major. Not yet, at least.”

            “I’ll play.” Bruce huddled with them.

            “Play what?” Bucky snuck up, the kids jumping at his sudden appearance.

            Tony is the first to recover. “A game.”

            “I could’ve guessed that, smartass.” Bucky chuckled. “What kind of game?”

            “The betting kind.” Tony evaded, a gleam in his eye.

            Bucky locked eyes with the teenager for a second; testing the waters to see if the mini genius would crack. He doesn’t. “Whatever.” Bucky shrugged. “Don’t take it too far or I’m gonna have to get involved. And I really don’t want to get involved.”

            “Don’t worry, we know when to stop.” Rhodey defended. “Right, Tony?”

            Tony waved a hand. “You know when to quit, and you can tell me. That’s what matters.”

            Bucky sighed. “You kids…” He shakes his head. “Now get up, we have a race to win.”

            “I thought it was a hike?” Peter stood.

            “It is, Peter.” Bruce got up next to him. “We’re going to collect little tags that mark out a hiking trail so we make a new trail sometime this week.”

            “That’s annoying…” Pietro scoffed.

            Tony stretched up his arms. “Oh it most definitely is.”

            “Which is why I’m turning it into a race.” Bucky explained. “Us against the Red Avengers.”

            Rhodey pondered. “That’s one way to make it interesting. Is there a prize?”

            Bucky shrugged. “Nothing yet. We’ll keep a tally going and decide eventually.”

            “Well then what are we waiting for?” Tony grinned.

            *

            Bucky met briefly with Steve to set out guidelines. The routes started at one end of the main hall and looped around, leading hikers to the same general area. The first team to collect all thirty tags and reach the flagpole in front of the mess hall would be declared the winner.

            The red and blue paths started near to each other, so the countdown was easy…

            “Three…” Steve started.

            “Two…” Bucky grinned.

            “One… Start!” And the teams were off.

            The tags were strip of durable fabric tied around tree trunks or anything sturdy. It was similar to a breadcrumb trail, each tag leading into the next.

            “I see the next one!” Pietro shouted, dashing ahead to collect the next blue tag.

            “I’m starting to regret choosing blue…” Bruce admitted. “It’s harder to spot than I expected.”

            “Maximoff doesn’t seem to have a problem…” Rhodey chuckled, hustling to keep up with the kid.

            “How many of these things are there supposed to be?” Tony groaned, trailing behind.

            “Thirty.” Bucky grumbled. These kids had too much damn energy. Pietro and Peter were dashing around like caffeinated rabbits, with Rhodey close behind. Bruce had decided to play it cool and stick with Bucky.

            “We’re totally going to win.” Rhodey predicted. “We already have fifteen.”

            “How long have we been out here?” Tony whined.

            “Half an hour?” Bucky estimated. “But the trails are meant to be two hours long.”

            “Uuuuuugh!”

            “But that’s at a normal pace. We should get done faster than that.” Bruce reminded the drama king.

            Tony grunted. “Good. I’m bored already. Hey boss, why don’t you tell us a story or something?”

            “We’re in the middle of a race.” Bucky glanced over his shoulder at the kid. “It’s not really the right time.”

            “Sure it is. Motivate the troops and whatever.” Tony grinned.

            Bruce chuckled. “You’re the only one that needs motivation, Tony.”

            Further ahead, Pietro stopped to shout back. “Can you guys hurry it up?”

            “Brucey, carry me.” Tony demanded.

            “No.” Bruce replied, only the slightest hint of a smile on his face. “You’re fifteen. You can walk on your own.”

            Tony groaned again. “Yeah, but I don’t want to.”

            “If you pick up the pace you can sit down sooner.” Bruce suggested.

            “Fine… How many tag thingies do we have now, Pete?” Tony shouted.

            “Sixteen, now!” The kid called back.

            “No thanks to you!” Pietro added.

            Bucky let both Bruce and Tony get ahead of him. He fell behind, trying to sort out the images in his head. He almost remembered doing something like this before… Almost. He’d have to ask Steve about it later. The way his eyes lit up when Bucky remembered the jerky was too adorable; Bucky was determined to see it again.

            *

            “I see two more.”

            Loki frowned. He didn’t anticipate Clint having such excellent eyesight. He was hoping his feigned sluggishness would be enough to slow down his team, but no one seemed to notice. His counselor was kind enough to stick with him while the rest of the group scouted on ahead, keeping him at a steady pace.

            The Red Avengers had a sort of assembly line going, where Clint would spot the furthest tag in sight, Thor would race ahead and grab it, passing it to Sam who would pass it to Clint who would hand it to Mister Rogers. It was dreadfully efficient.

            “Would you like to hold these, Loki?” Mister Rogers offered the small pile of red flags.

            Loki stared at them for a second, calculating. “Yes, I would.” He smiled, accepting them. And if one happened or two happened to slip to the ground…

            Loki’s plan was almost flawless. If that idiot Coulson hadn’t insisted on counting the flags before completely exiting the trail, it would have worked.

            “We only have twenty- eight.” He noted. “We’re missing two. Thor, are you sure you got all the ones Clint spotted?”

            “Yes, I am certain.” Thor nodded solemnly. Loki tried not to frown. His step-brother was so sincere it was sickening.

            “Clint, are you sure you saw them all? You didn’t accidentally skip over one?” Coulson switched.

            “Yeah, I’m sure. It’s hard to miss a color like this.” Clint huffed.

            “I counted thirty.” Sam offered. “I ran thirty flags back to you, Phil.”

            Loki took the opportunity to execute his new plan: stall. “Oh dear… It might be my fault.”

            “What?” Coulson turned to him. “How?”

            Loki frowned, sighing deeply. “Well I must have dropped them. There were so many, and they’re very hard to hold on to…” He shuffled his feet for dramatic effect.

            “Do not worry, Loki.” Thor rested a hand on his shoulder. “We can fix this.”

            “Come on, guys.” Mister Rogers encouraged. “Let’s go back and see if we can find the last two. I don’t see and Howling Skulls, we can still win this!”

            Loki smiled sadly, slowly morphing to a wicked grin as the rest of the team headed back to the forest. With any luck, this diversion would give his new ally’s team enough time to win.

            *

            “Ok, this isn’t right.” Bucky squinted. “I can’t even see the camp anymore.”

            “We should be close…” Peter noted.

            “Yeah, we have twenty three tags.” Rhodey added, holding up the proof.

            “That’s what I mean.” Bucky frowned. “We should be closer to camp by now. We’re not even going in the right direction to get back to camp.”

            “I see another one!” Pietro called. “Come on, guys! I’m sure camp is just around this mountain.”

            *

            “Are we the first ones here?” Mister Rogers asked as the Red Avengers approached the flag pole.

            “I can’t imagine we are…” Clint grunted. “Every group must be done by now.”

            “It did take us a considerable amount of time…” Thor sighed.

            Mister Rogers stopped in front of them. “Come on guys, we did fine. We got all the flags and got a good amount of exercise. We’ll win the next one, I’m sure of it. I’m going to go check in with Director Fury, alright? You all head to the mess hall.”

            The Red Avengers obliged. Loki quickly scanned the room, wishing to congratulate his ally. The room was full of other teams, but the chaos of the Howling Skulls was nowhere to be seen. Did they already head back to their cabins?

            Loki spotted his counselor across the hall, speaking with the Director. They both looked concerned.

            “Loki, come over and sit with us.” Thor beckoned.

            “It looks like we beat those Howling Losers after all.” Clint chuckled.

            “Or maybe they got bored of waiting and left already…” Sam frowned.

            Loki made himself comfortable in the remaining chair. “Again, I am truly sorry about my mistake…”

            Phil looked over with sad eyes. “You don’t have to keep apologizing, Loki. It was an honest mistake.”

            Loki smiled his thanks, internally proud of his acting abilities. It was concerning that the Howling Skulls weren’t present, though. It had been three hours since the teams started. The discomfort levels only grew as Mister Rogers hurried over to the table.

            “Well we beat the Howling Skulls…” He said with no joy. “They haven’t come back yet.”

            “That’s a little hard to believe…” Phil raised an eyebrow.

            Clint smirked. “They must have messed up even worse than we did- ow!” A sharp jab from Thor shut him up, earning Loki an apologetic stare from his step-brother.

            “I’m sure they’re fine…” Mister Rogers stated, not exactly convincing. Loki felt a small panic start to build up.

            “Do you think it’s possible they got lost?” Loki inquired, maintaining a steady voice.

            “I guess…” Mister Rogers frowned. “I mean, these trails were tagged by kids like you. It’s entirely possible they made a mistake.”

            *

            “Ok, yeah, this is definitely a mistake.” Bucky huffed, pressing himself against the mountainside. “There’s no way Fury would let kids up here.”

            The trail had led them up a mountain. Bucky was caution from the start about going up the mountain, especially since the direction was all wrong. At first it seemed ok; it wasn’t too steep and it looked traveled. After a while, though…

            “Maximoff, slow down!” Rhodey urged. “Seriously, man. If you trip, it’s at least a fifty foot drop.”

            “Maximoff, stop.” Bucky ordered.

            “But guys, we’re so close!” The kid called back. “We have twenty-eight tags!”

            Bucky didn’t dare to look over the side of the mountain. Somewhere along the way it turned into a sheer drop and a thin path.

            “Twenty-nine!” Pietro cheered. “Almost done! Shit!”

            There was a collective gasp as Pietro slipped on a rock, barely catching himself. “Pietro!” Bucky shouted. “If you don’t stop I’m throwing you off this damned mountain myself, do you understand?”

            Pietro turned to Bucky with wide eyes. He understood the error of his ways. “Yeah, I get it…”

            “Are we going to die up here?” Tony whined melodramatically, pressing his back to the mountain’s wall.

            “Shut up, Tony.” Rhodey hissed. “We’re not going to die.”

            “Oh!” Bruce cried out as he, too, slipped, grasping at the wall to catch himself.

            “Alright, all of you.” Bucky called out. “I want your backs to the wall, ok? And watch your step.”

            “Guys…” Pietro almost whispered, looking ahead.

            “What?” Bucky almost snapped.

            “I found the last one…” He choked out. "It ends there.” He pointed ahead, to the end of the path. A cliff.

            “Well fuck.” Bucky sighed. “Sorry kids.”

            “What does that mean?” Bruce asked.

            “I think I see something over there…” Rhodey squinted.

            Pietro followed his line of sight. “Yeah, it looks like a rope or something.”

            “A rope?” Bucky repeated in disbelief. He could barely see the path ahead, but it looked wider than the thin strip of dirt they were standing on. “Let’s slowly make our way over, ok? It looks safer over there.”

            Pietro and Rhodey nodded, keeping their backs to the wall as they continued with caution. Bruce and Tony followed.

            Peter wasn’t moving.

            Bucky stood behind the petrified kid. “Come on, bud. You need to keep moving.”

            “I can’t.” The poor kid’s voice quivered.

            “Yes you can. I’m right here; I’m not going to let you fall.” Bucky assured him.

            Peter still didn’t budge.

            “Come on, Peter.” Bucky urged. “I can’t help you out of here if you don’t move. I can’t carry you right now.”

            “I don’t want to be here.” Peter whispered.

            “Neither do I, pal. I’m not too fond of heights, if we’re being honest.” Bucky admitted, trying to chuckle. It didn’t work.

            “Can you promise?” Peter turned his neck to look at Bucky. “Can you promise I won’t die?”

            Bucky looked the kid square in the eyes. “I can promise you that I won’t let you fall.”

            Peter looks about ready to cry, but slowly he started inching towards the rest of his team.

            “Come on, Pete!” Tony cheered him on. “You can do it!”

            The team started chanting, “Pe-ter! Pe-ter! Pe-ter!” until the kid was smiling and safe on the thicker path, with Bucky right behind him.

            “Um, boss?” Tony turned to Bucky. “Are we supposed to go down that?” He motioned towards the rope, a length of cord wrapped around a rock, trailing down the mountain.

            “Yeah I don’t trust that.” Bruce admitted.

            “It’s either that or go back the way we came.” Rhodey stated. “And honestly it’s a miracle that no one fell off. I’d rather take the rope.”

            “What are we going to do?” Pietro frowned. “We’ve been out here for hours.”

            “Maybe someone could climb down the rope and get us help?” Peter suggested quietly.

            “Not an option.” Bucky snapped. “Whatever we do, we do it together, alright? No man left behind.”

            “We could just wait.” Tony offered; his tone serious. “They’re bound to send someone to look for us.”

            “Do you think they could find us before it gets dark?” Pietro argued.

            “It’s not that late.” Rhodey defended.

            “It’s pretty late…” Bruce countered.

            Bucky took a deep breath before exhaling. “We’re not waiting around. And we’re not going back down that goddamned path.”

            Five pairs of eyes snapped to him, concerned.

            “Does that mean…?” Peter trailed off.

            Bucky nodded. “We’re going down the rope. I’m going first. Then I’ll be able to lower the rest of you down. This was set up to be a sort of belay system. Whoever made this trail got in the same problem as us, and we’ll use the same solution.”

            “Are you sure?” Tony eyes him carefully.

            “It’s better than sitting around and hoping someone finds us before dark.” Bucky shrugged, stepping up to the rope.

            “What if you… ya know…?” Pietro left his open ended question hanging in the air.

            “I’m not going to die.” Bucky answered, not entirely confident. He picked up the rope, working it around his waist. “You guys wait here, ok? Don’t watch. Stark, you and Rhodey make sure everyone is tied up right. You’ve taken the rock climbing course here, right?”

            They both nodded.

            “Good.” Bucky continued. “Stark, you’re the last one down. Can you handle that?”

            “Sure.” Stark stammered. “I can manage that.”

            “Good.” Bucky swallowed, stepping down and starting down the rope. “Oh, and guys? If we all survive this, I’ll tell you two stories tonight.”

            *

            The sun was setting. Fast. Steve was almost frantic. The kids were still gathered in the mess hall, waiting for the last team to return.

            After the fifth hour had passed, Steve asked if he and a few other counselors could form a search party. Fury agreed, informing Steve he was planning on calling in the park rangers.

            Another hour of searching had done nothing. They couldn’t find any blue tags, any missing campers, or even a trace of where they might have gone.

            “Bucky?” Steve called out, waiting for a response. “Bucky?”

            It was almost dark. Steve shouted even louder. “BUCKY? KIDS?”

            He could hear similar calls from the other counselors roaming the area. It was almost impossible to think, Steve was so worried. He finally had Bucky again. The thought of losing him a second time was unbearable.

            “BUCKY!” He cried out again, losing hope. He bit his lip, remembering to breathe. A noise caught his attention.

            “Steve?” It was quiet.

            “BUCKY?!” He shouted again, alert and searching.

            “Steve!” He was getting closer.

            “BUCKY!” He finally spotted the group, a few yards away. He closed the distance in a few strides, engulfing his friend in a hug. “Jesus Christ, what happened to you guys?” He held Bucky out at arm’s length, suddenly aware that it probably wasn’t proper to show that much affection to someone who barely remembered him.

            Bucky smiled grimly. “The Howling Skulls went on an adventure on a mountain.” Steve counted all five members of the team, all a little wide eyed and frightened. “Now where the fuck is Fury?” Bucky practically spat. “I have a few things to say to him.”

            Steve wanted to laugh with relief, but the wild look in Bucky’s eyes convinced him not to. “He’s in the mess hall. Come on, we’ll all go together.” He insisted, leading the campers from the woods.

            He glanced back at the kids, noticing the wicked grin on one of the faces.

            “That was awesome.” The kid stated, running his hands through his bleached hair.

            “No, it wasn’t.” The one with black hair responded. The smallest one was resting on his back, half asleep.

            “Come on, Bruce.” A kid with a bad goatee chuckled. “It was a little awesome.”

            “All of you, shut up.” He dark skinned kid sighed. “I just want food and sleep. Shut up.”

            Steve turned to Bucky. “Those are some pretty tough kids you have, Buck.”

            Bucky huffed. “You have no idea.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story was based off of an actual hike my brother went on. Pretty scary to think about...


	5. Aftermath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bucky needs some time to calm down after the near death experience, and Steve is pretty good at getting his mind off of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!  
> I'm sorry this one took so long to write, I've been a little swamped with work!  
> Enjoy!

The talk with Fury wasn’t as calm as Bucky hoped. He might have shouted a little more than he planned, and there was definitely more cursing. A whole lot more cursing.

            It didn’t help that Bucky had been shaking the whole way back. One look over that cliff was enough to make his blood run cold for reasons he knew he didn’t remember. He strangled the rope on the way down, that iron grip the only thing keeping him from a long drop and a short stop.

            The team was brave. They followed orders like pros. They even managed to laugh a bit after Peter lost his footing for a second and let out the most adorable ‘Fuck!’ out of shock. After they made sure the shrimp was ok, of course.

            Steve was nice enough to corral the Howling Skulls back to the campsite, so Bucky walked back alone, more than a little worn down. It was a quiet night; with only the occasional voice breaking through the trees from surrounding campsites.

 

            Bucky stops just short of his camp. He thought shouting at Fury about leaving an unsafe trail up would help him release the tension building in his chest, but if anything it made it tighter. He crouched down, resting his head between his knees, crossing his hands over his head. God, his shoulder hurt. He was one thousand percent sure his doctor told him not to do stuff like that.

            He ran his fingers through his hair a few times, breaking up the locks fused together with sweat. Standing up, he took a few deep breaths. He bounced on his toes for a second, trying to work up a positive energy, and stepped into the clearing.

 

            A small fire was going in the pit, with both teams huddling around it. From the looks of it, Tony was in the middle of regaling everyone with the events of the day.

            “It was, like, a hundred feet down. And Mr. Quick over here just had to run ahead.” Tony gestured to Pietro, who looked less annoyed than usual. “His foot slipped, and it looked like the end for our dear friend Pietro….”

            “Tony, your suspense doesn’t work when they know we all survived.” Rhodey pointed out.

            Tony frowned, turning to his friend. “Who is telling the story here? Me. So I’ll tell it the way I want to!”

            Bucky chuckled. The kids seemed to be recovering just fine. He was the only one with a problem.

            “Mr. Barnes!” Peter squeaked, jumping up and rushing to meet his leader. “What took you so long?”

            “Sorry, kiddo.” Bucky smiled unconvincingly. “I needed to explain things to Director Fury.”

            “Didn’t sound like explaining to me…” Cling smirked. “Even I knew what you were saying and I’m practically deaf.”

            “Yeah, boss.” Tony chipped in. “That’s quite the colorful vocabulary you got there.”

            “Yeah yeah, I’m a terrible influence.” Bucky rolled his eyes. “Even Peter started picking up on my bad habits.” He winked down at the shrimp.

            “I don’t usually curse…” He stuttered, turning a little red.

            Bucky threw an arm around him. “I know, kid. I know.”

            “Are you going to tell us what happened to your arm, now?” Bucky was startled by the sudden change of topics. He found a pair of jade eyes staring intently at him.

            “Loki, right?” Bucky asked. The boy nodded.

            “What, you don’t want to hear the rest of my story?” Tony teased, acting offended.

            “Oh!” Loki’s eyebrows shot up. “Oh, no! That’s not what I intended, it’s just that-“

            “Don’t sweat it, Lok.” Tony smirked. “I can tell you later.”

            “You don’t have to tell it right now, Bucky.” Steve spoke, standing up and making his way over. “It’s been quite the day. I doubt you want to talk about it.”

            Even in the dim fire light, Steve’s eyes looked sincere. He patted Bucky’s back gently. It took every ounce of willpower not to shiver under the touch. Steve’s presence was reassuring. Bucky wanted to wrap him in a bear hug until he knew everything was okay, but there were teenagers around and showing any weakness around them was worse than blood to a shark.

            “Thanks, Steve.” Bucky smiled. “But it’s no big deal. I’ll be fine.”

            “Yes!” Tony exclaimed. “All bets are final, let’s wait and see the score!”

            Bucky eyed Tony, but didn’t have the energy to question him. “Gather ‘round, folks, and I’ll tell you the tale of how I wrecked my arm…”

            He stepped closer to the fire, letting the light cast an eerie shadow on his features. He learned from a young age that his cheekbones allowed for a truly creepy under-lit face, dark shadows hollowing his eyes.

            “It was a dark day. One of those days where the sun doesn’t even try.” Bucky started, running his dead eyes over the group. “It was cold. So cold it made a freezer feel like a sauna. On that very day, not so long ago, I…” He paused. “Got shot and fell off a train. Good night, kids!” He chirped, cracking a grin.

            “What!” Tony stood up. “You can’t leave it at that!”

            “Yeah, that’s not even a tagline, much less a story!” Pietro added.

            Bucky chuckled. “You’ll have to forgive me for not remembering more details. Falling off a train does some nasty stuff to your head.”

            “Surely you can remember why you were shot!” Thor boomed, obviously offended.

            “Well I’m sure it was because I was shooting at him.” Bucky shrugged.

            “WHAT?”

            Bucky couldn’t help but laugh at the collective gasp. “I was in the army, guys! The train had a passenger with some very important information.”

            “Um… Mr. Barnes?” Peter almost whispered.

            “Yeah?”

            “Have you ever…” The kid paused. “You know…”

            “Have I ever what?” Bucky encouraged. “Eaten rattle snake? No but I’ve only heard good things.”

            “That’s not what he means.” Bruce chuckled. “Pete, I don’t think you want to ask that question.”

            “Well I do!” Tony bursts. “Have you ever killed anyone?”

            Bucky narrowed his eyes, leaning forward towards the question. “You want to know if I’ve killed anyone?”

            Tony’s confidence faltered. “Yes…? I mean, like, bad guys.”

            Bucky huffed, amused. “Not that I recall.” It wasn’t a total lie. He didn’t remember killing anyone. He heard others talk about the people he’s killed, but Bucky personally didn’t remember.

            “I think that’s enough for tonight.” Steve intervened. “Lights out in half an hour, so get your business out of the way.” The Red Avengers promptly stood up and obeyed, but the Howling Skulls hung back for a moment.

            Bucky noticed their stare. “What? That applies to you. I won’t tolerate bad hygiene in my team, so brush those teeth.”

            “Yes, sir.” Rhodey nodded before nudging the others to walk away.

            “Buck…” Steve almost whispered. “Are you ok?”

            Bucky swallowed hard. He could feel that rising heat in his chest, that pinching in his throat. “I’m fine. I’m gonna go to the cabin, can you grab me when the kids are back in their cabins? I have to tell them about tomorrow’s activities.”

            “Are you sure?” Steve asked. “I could do it, no problem.”

            “Really, Steve. I’m fine.” Bucky attempted a smile. “Besides, I have to get morale back up. We lost pretty bad to your team today.”

            “Oh, Bucky, we really don’t have to count today.” Steve started.

            “Steve.” Bucky put his hand on his friend’s shoulder. “It’s fine. I’m fine. We’re all fine. It counts, ok?”

            Steve nodded. “If you say so.” He reached over his chest, putting hand over Bucky’s, gently squeezing. His smile was bitter sweet. Bucky could feel it. The contact was nice, Bucky really wanted to hold his hand. Really bad.

            Reluctantly, Bucky pulled his hand away. “I’m gonna go now. You promise to come get me?”

            “Scouts honor.” Steve teased, holding up three fingers.

            One last pat on the back and Bucky was gone. He was careful to close the door behind him.

            “Dammit...” He sighed, rubbing his eyes with his hands. He thought talking about it would help, but it didn’t. Today, looking over that cliff, he was transported back to the train. He was back on the train. It was loud and someone was shouting. Someone had blown a hole in the side of it. His ears were ringing, he couldn't hear the orders. The blast was so loud and the wind was so loud, how was he supposed to hear anything? His arm hurt and he didn't know why. There was blood. So much blood.The man he thought he killed shot him. The man grinned. He pulled the trigger and grinned. Bucky tried to hold on. He tried. It was cold and the train was so fast and his arm hurt like hell and he was suddenly free falling, with the wind whipping past him and the train getting smaller and smaller and he was trying to hold on trying so hard but everything was moving so fast and nothing seemed to be in reach if only he reached a little farther if only-

            “Bucky!”

            He was in the cabin again. Feet on the ground. He whipped around to face Steve, but Steve wasn’t looking at him.

            “Oh, shit…” Bucky groaned when he turned back. He had punched a hole through the cabin wall. It was made of some pretty solid wood but there it was; a small new window to the outside right next to his bed. “Steve I’m so sorry.”

            “It’s not me you’re going to have to apologize to.” Steve stated, a little shocked. “Bucky, what happened?”

            “I, um…” Bucky’s mind was still hazy. “I got stuck in a memory. The cliff today resembled the one I fell off and I guess I thought about it too much and brought the whole memory back.”

            “Jesus, are you ok? I think you’re bleeding.” Steve carefully stepped forward, examining Bucky’s knuckles.

            “Yeah, probably. It’s starting to hurt now.” He chuckled awkwardly.

            “I’m sure Natasha is still up. You should get her to look at it.” Steve suggested.

            “Nah, I don’t want to walk all the way over there.” Bucky shrugged. “Besides, I’ve got some bandages in my bag. They come in handy.” He waved his hand, a little startled at his own stupid pun. He must be really shaken up if he’s making stupid jokes like that.

            “If you say so…” Steve smiled gently. “Do you want me to check on your group?”

            “Are they in their cabin already?” Bucky scoffed.

            “Yeah, they were pretty quick about it.” Steve shrugged.

            Bucky thought. “I can handle it. Seriously. I think it’s out of my system for now.”

            “Forgive me if I don’t take your word for it.” Steve chuckled, eyeing the hole in the wall.

            “What, do you want to wait outside and make sure I don’t redecorate their cabin?” Bucky teased, crossing his arms. Which was a mistake. His knuckles were still bloody.

            “Maybe I do.” Steve mimicked Bucky’s pose. “What are you gonna do about it?”

            That sounded like a challenge Bucky would be all too happy to take up. He had to bite his check to stop himself from really saying what he wanted to do to Steve. There were kids around, for crying out loud. And that would make things pretty awkward because one of the things he wanted to make Steve do was cry out loud.

            “Absolutely nothing.” He settled on, smirking. He brushed past Steve, hoping his thoughts weren’t too obvious. He brushed across his raw knuckles a few times before reaching the cabin just to make sure.

            There wasn’t much noise coming from the room, so Bucky’s knock almost echoed.

            “You guys ok in here?” He opened the door carefully, checking the bunks. He found five sets of sad eyes. “What’s the problem?”

            “We’re sorry.” Rhodey started.

            Bucky stepped inside. “Sorry for what?”

            “Sorry for picking a path that was so dangerous.” Peter explained.

            “And we’re sorry for prying about your arm.” Bruce added. “It wasn’t our business.”

            “I mean, we made bets on it.” Tony sighed. “It was messed up.”

            Bucky clapped. “So that’s what you guys were on about!” He chuckled. “Who won?”

            “Tony.” Pietro offered.

            “But I’m not going to collect!” Tony rushed to defend. “It wasn’t right.”

            Bucky huffed. “Guys, come on. Don’t be like this. Thank you for apologizing, but you didn’t do anything wrong. You didn’t set up the markers to begin with, and if I really didn’t want to tell you about my arm I would have made something up.” He leaned against the door. “I should be the one apologizing. I should have turned us back the second things started looking bad.”

            “Are they going to send us home?” Pietro asked, carefully.

            Bucky frowned. “Why would they do that?”

            “Well we did defy death.” Bruce pointed out. “You’d think they’d call our parents and send us home before any more psychological damage occurs.”

            “Nah.” Bucky waved the thought off. “I mean, Director Fury might send me off for being the world’s worst camp counselor, but you guys are stuck here.”

            “No!” Peter shouted. “He can’t send you away!”

            “Kid, I’m not exactly the most stable person…” Bucky admitted, putting his hand behind his back.

            “Eh, join the club.” Tony teased. “But enough of this emotional stuff. I’m a crier.”

            “That’s the truth...” Rhodey chuckled.

            “Hey, you’re one to talk!” Tony pointed across the room. “You cried at Toy Story Three!”

            “Everyone cried at Toy Story Three.” Bucky argued. “But I digress. Kids, don’t worry. End of story. Now! Get some sleep, we have something to do tomorrow that I have entirely forgotten!”

            “Arts and crafts!” A phantom voice replied from outside the cabin. That bastard actually followed him over.

            “Thanks, eavesdropper!” Bucky called back.

            “Anytime!”

            “Is that Mr. Rogers?” Pietro stuck his head over his bed to peer out the slightly opened door.

            “Yeah, he’s my stalker apparently.” Bucky shrugged. “Anyways. You don’t have to sleep, but if you’re loud enough to wake me up I’m making you run laps. And if you have to use the bathroom, take a buddy. Do not leave the cabin alone or for any other reason, got it?”

            “Sir, yes sir!” Tony saluted.

            “Good. G’night, kiddos.” Bucky winked before leaving, followed by a chorus of ‘sleep tights’.

            Bucky found Steve standing a few feet away from the door. “Didn’t think you’d actually follow me, Rogers.”

            “Well with the threat of absolutely nothing in return, how could I resist?” He chuckled. “Do you want to stand around while I brief my group?”

            “No thanks. Your kids are no fun.” Bucky teased. “I’m going to hit the showers to wash off the nature.”

            “Don’t use all the hot water.” Steve ordered, pointing a finger as he walked away.

            “And what are you gonna do about it?” Bucky echoed, no regrets. There was an equally long list of things Bucky would like Steve to do, and Steve was far enough away that he could think freely.

            Bucky jogged back to his cabin, grabbing the small rope bag he brought for showers. It consisted of a towel and a three-in-one shampoo conditioner body wash bottle. He didn’t even bother bringing the recommended pair of shower shoes.

            The showers were nothing special. The bathrooms had a few stalls around the back with low pressure shower heads and flimsy curtains. There was a flat, plastic board glued to the only solid wall to place bottles on and that was it.

            The water trickled down evenly, but slowly. Bucky would have killed for something with a little more pressure. At the rate it was going, the sink would have been a better option.

            After a moment of scrubbing, Bucky was ready to give up. He managed to get the sweat from his hair, but he didn’t feel clean. He scrubbed at his skin, trying to wash off whatever was making him uncomfortable, but it wasn’t working.

            “How’s the water?” Bucky froze. Steve was there.

            Bucky paused. “These showers suck. A rainstorm would get me cleaner.”

            Steve chuckled. “That’s no good. I don’t want to be around a bunch of teenagers who don’t have access to good showers.” Bucky could hear the rustling of a curtain, then water. Steve was in the stall next to him. “You’re right, this is awful.” He agreed.

            Bucky almost offered to help. Almost. Luckily some soap stung his knuckles and brought him back to his senses. ‘Right, time to leave.’ He thought.

            He quickly washed of whatever soap he could. “Well, I’ll give you a moment to yourself.” Bucky offered, gathering his bag and stuffing his dirty clothes in. Then he realized his mistake. He only had a towel and a pair of muddy shoes to walk back to the cabin in.

            “I didn’t mean to scare you off.” Steve joked, unware to Bucky’s situation.

            He needed to get out of there. Bucky was sure that Steve was smart enough to bring a change of clothes, but if he wasn’t and they walked back even remotely close to each other a towel wasn’t going to be enough to hide Bucky’s interest. Bucky cleared his throat. “I’m not running, just hoping the water pressure will even out a bit more if only one shower is running. I’ll see you back at the cabin.”

            “Sure thing, Buck.” Steve answered. Bucky could have sworn he sounded disappointed. Was that possible? No…?

            Bucky didn’t stick around to find out. He hurried back to his shelter, careful to keep his only cover closed. He quickly threw on a pair of boxers and sweats, tossing an old t-shirt on for good measure. Save from exposure, he could use the towel to try and tame his hair.

            He did feel better. Still a little gritty, but that was more of an emotional thing than anything. Having Steve around even for a moment helped tremendously. There was something about him that made Bucky feel human again. He hadn’t felt flustered like that around anybody since he could remember. It was the nice kind of stress.

            Bucky flopped down on his bed, letting his muscles unwind.

            “Hey, I’m back.” Steve knocked quickly before opening the door.

            “That was fas- Fuck!” Bucky shouted as he looked up. “Wow, I’m sorry. But seriously!”

            “What? What’s wrong?” Steve rushed over, kneeling by Bucky.

            “You! Jesus Christ, what’s your day job?” Bucky sat up glaring.

            Steve’s eye’s turned from panic to confusion? “My what? What do you mean?”

            “Dude! You’re ripped! Do you just lift cars all day or something?” Bucky shouted, pointing at Steve’s bare chest.

            “Oh!” Steve followed the accusatory finger. “Uh, no? I teach P.E.” He chuckled nervously. “Sorry?”

            “Do you chase villains on the weekends or something? Because there is no reason for a teacher to have abs like that.” Bucky couldn’t stop himself. He started this; he was going to see this outburst to the end.

            “No, but I play in a minor league baseball team sometimes.” Steve offered relief flushing his face.

            “God dammit, put a shirt on you punk.” Bucky hissed. “I go to physical therapy on an almost daily basis and somehow your pecs are better than mine. It’s cruel, that’s what it is.”

            Steve couldn’t help but laugh. It was deep, rumbling from his chest. “You jerk, you really had me scared!”

            “I should be afraid of you. There is no way you are the skinny Steve I vaguely remember.” Bucky accused. “You’re an imposter. That’s the only explanation.”

            Steve tugged a shirt on for Bucky’s sake. “I had to get these special steroids when I was a teenager.” He explained. “I was such a weak kid, the doctors said I wouldn’t live to see twenty five if I didn’t do something.”

            Bucky frowned. “Did it hurt?”

            Steve shrugged. “A little.”

            “Are they permanent?”

            “So far.”

            Bucky eyed Steve carefully. Damn. This secret crush was going to be harder to hide than he thought.

            *

            Loki was quiet. One of his many gifts was his stealth. He carefully crept across the campgrounds, heading for the opposite cabin. He had overheard his new ally complaining about the sleeping arrangements, so it was only a matter of how to wake Tony without alerting the rest of his team. He carefully approached the window he knew belonged to Tony, whispering softly. "Tony... Tony...? Are you awake?" A quiet shuffling sound replied.

           "Loki? Is that you, bud?" A groggy Tony pressed his face to the screen. "What's up?"

           Loki swallowed. "I was hoping you could tell me the rest of your story now." He admitted.

           "Seriously? Right now?" Loki froze. Was he bothering Tony? Was he being a nuisance? "Sure! I'll be out in a sec."

           Loki sighed with relief. He had found a friend.


	6. Stevie and Buck

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What do you mean I haven't updated this in months? That's just silly. I am so good bout being on a schedule. So. Good.  
> Seriously though, school and work hit me hard. I'm a screenwriting student so most of my writing time had been entirely devoted to that. But I needed a distraction from my school work and remembered that this was a thing!  
> If I made any mistakes, I'm sure Fili will let me know and I will correct them as soon as possible.  
> Thank you to whoever is still keeping up with this. I hope it's worth it.

Bucky didn’t sleep well. He couldn’t remember the last time he slept well. Reality would mix with terrors in his dreams that exhausted him more than any hike could.

That night he remembered the train. He saw the demonic version of his enemy pull out the gun. The side of the train blew open. Bucky didn’t feel the bullet, but he knew it was there. But this time… This time he didn’t fall. An angel caught him. Some glowing creature held on to his hand like his own life depended on it. Bucky could almost see the face of that angel. He was pulled closer and closer to safety.

“Steve?” Bucky almost whispered. He was a second away from knowing for sure, but something snapped, and the angel was gone. He was freefalling. Bucky didn’t panic this time. He could almost see the bottom of the ravine. He could almost… smell something?

*

Bucky opened his eyes. “Bacon? Is that you?” He propped himself up on his elbows, blinking against the sunlight.

“The only sane way to wake Bucky Barnes up is with bacon.” Steve chuckled, dropping a plate on Bucky’s lap.

Bacon and eggs were piled high, still warm. Bucky moaned. “Bacon, my love. At long last we meet again.” He picked up a piece and took a delicate bite for effect before shoving it all in his mouth.

               “Sorry if it’s a little stale. It would have been better if you managed to get up in time for the counselors meeting this morning, but someone wanted to sleep in.” Steve took a seat on his own bunk.

               Bucky scarfed down another piece before replying. “I will never complain about breakfast in bed.” He was still half asleep, so it took him a moment to realize that wasn’t totally appropriate. “But you could have woken me up.”

               “I enjoy my face intact, thank you.” Steve laughed. “You may not remember, but I know what happens when someone tries to wake you up before you’re ready.”

               Bucky shifted to face Steve. “No, I’m fully aware. I spent a week apologizing to a nurse who made that mistake after my little incident. They thought it was PTSD until one of the guys in my unit made it very clear I was always like that.”

               “Well I’ll let the kids know they should wake me up if there’s an emergency.” Steve chuckled before standing. “And speaking of kids, they’re due in the main hall in an hour, so we should get them up.”

               Bucky groaned. “Just give me a minute alone, this plate and I have some catching up to do.”

               Steve just rolled his eyes before exiting the cabin. Bucky smiled. He almost forgot what it was like to have someone looking out for him.

The morning air was crisp and just a little chilly. It was better than coffee to help Bucky wake up. Well, almost. Bucky hurried the kids, hoping to get down to the cafeteria ASAP so he could take advantage of the coffee machine.

He was surprised to find most of them already awake. Tony was up and fiddling with a wristwatch or some sort of gadget. Bruce was meditating on his bed.

Peter, on the other hand, looked like he had a fight with his blanket. The kid was so tangled it was hard to tell who won.

               “Mornin, boss!” Tony sang, way too loud for the early hour. His greeting seemed to rouse Rhodey and Pietro.

               “Dude…” Rhodey groaned. “Shut up.”

               “Oh, I’m sorry!” Tony raised his voice. “Did I wake you up? Ow!” Tony shouted as Pietro leaned over the top bunk and pelted Tony with his pillow.

               “Alright, kiddos. Time to get up. We roll out in forty, so be ready.” Bucky made eye contact with every camper as a confirmation, except Peter, who was still dead asleep. Bucky turned to him. “Should I wake him up?”

               “If you don’t, nothing will.” Rhodey jumped down from his bunk. “Pete slept through Bruce’s snoring, so nothing short of Armageddon will wake him up.”

               “Sorry about that.” Bruce said, sheepishly. “I’m working on it.”

               Tony put away his little project. “Don’t worry about it, Brucey. If it really bothered us we would throw you out of the cabin.”

               “That’s reassuring.” Bruce stood up, stretching out his arms.

               Bucky stood over Peter, trying to decide how to wake him up. He didn’t want to risk scaring Peter with his scruffy face, especially on his first night away from home. “Hey, Petey. Pete.” He increased his volume. “Peter! Come on, buddy. You have to wake up.”

               “Just shake him or something.” Pietro whined.

               Bucky tapped his foot, thinking. “I have a better idea…”

               *

               “I’ll give you all half an hour to get ready for the day. We’ll meet back at the campfire.” Steve instructed. “And remember, use the buddy system. Which doesn’t work perfectly with a group of five, so just make sure you’re never by yourself.”

Steve was going to say something else, but a loud cry from the other side of the campsite distracted him. He would have been concerned, but it was a familiar cry.

“Good lord. The Howling Skulls have an interesting way of starting their morning.” Clint chirped, hopping down from his top bunk.

“Is that sound coming from them?” Thor got up and peered out the door. “It’s a mighty cry, to be sure.”

Sam leaned back against his pillow. “No one in the entire camp is going to be asleep after that.”

Steve looked over Thor’s head. The Howling Skulls were piling out of their cabin, pushing an obviously startled Peter. They were all laughing their heads off. “I think that was the point…”

Phil jumped up from his bed and stood at attention next to Steve. “Should we go now? To get ready?”

Steve managed to break his gaze away from Bucky, who hoisted Peter up onto his right shoulder to get the poor kid away from his cabin mates. “What? Oh! Yes, dismissed. See you guys in thirty minutes.”

The kids rushed out of their cabin with Steve trailing behind. He caught Bucky’s eye with a wave. He set Peter down and issued a command to his kids before meeting Steve by the fire pit.

“I have to admit,” Steve started, strolling up. “That is one heck of a battle cry.”

Bucky shrugged. “We have a heavy sleeper.”

Steve chuckled. “Then he’s lucky. It’s not exactly quiet in a cabin full of boys. Half of them snore and the other half talk in their sleep.”

“Are you speaking from experience?” Bucky asked, crossing his arms.

Steve mimicked his stance. “As a matter of fact I am.”

“Which category did I fall under?” Bucky challenged.

“Snoring. Luck for me, you haven’t outgrown that trait.” Steve smirked.

               “Bringing back old memories?” Bucky chuckled before clapping Steve on the shoulder and heading back towards their cabin.

               Steve held back for a moment. He didn’t have the guts to tell Bucky he was talking in his sleep last night. Especially since the only thing he said over and over was ‘Steve’. It gave Steve hope until he saw the pain on Bucky’s face. Whatever he was dreaming about, it wasn’t pleasant.

               ‘Damn it, Steve. You’re not a love sick teenager anymore.’ He shook his head to clear his thoughts. That didn’t stop him from admiring the view as he followed Bucky.

               *

               “Steve, be honest.” Bucky turned to face Steve, entirely serious. He held up his paper. “What do you think?”

               Steve pondered it, equally serious. “Bucky, I think you have real potential.”

               “Thank you, Steve. I always wanted to expand the artistic medium to construction paper and twigs I found outside.” Bucky broke, laughing and tossing the paper down. Twigs and leaves were glued down to resemble a skull, in honor of his team. It also could’ve been a cloud, or a sheep, or a radio. Bucky wasn’t very good at arts and crafts.

               Steve, on the other hand, was obviously in his element. He was doing a rather spectacular job of recreating Washington Crossing the Delaware.

               “Dude, I thought you were a P.E. teacher! Where is this coming from?” Bucky snatched Steve’s paper away from him.

               Steve shrugged. “It’s a gift.”

               Bucky huffed and turned his attention back to the room. The two teams were learning from an overly perky counselor about the ‘natural beauty of nature’ and how to ‘channel their inner artist’ to ‘create something’. Bucky tuned out after a minute and didn’t expect his kids to last any longer. So it was no surprise to him when Tony and Pietro started flicking sticks at each other.

               “Um, campers?” The counselor stopped mid lecture to address the growing problem. “Let’s not use nature as a weapon, Okie dokie?”

               “Okie dokie?” Bucky whispered. “That took away any chance of my kids paying attention.”

               “You might want to step in, Counselor Barnes.” Steve nudged.

               Bucky sighed, but stood up. “Yo, kiddos. Knock it off and paint with the colors of the wind.” He pointed accusing fingers at the two instigators. “And if I see sticks fly between either of you, no bedtime story tonight.”

               Tony turned around in his chair, pointing his finger right back. “You still owe us two because we survived Mt. Murder. Don’t think you get off the hook for that.”

               Bucky locked eyes, staring down the teen. “How about this. You all don’t give these nice teachers any trouble for the rest of the day and make one of those stories a ghost story instead of a boring one.”

               The Skulls huddled together, discussing the offer. Tony popped his head back up. “Two ghost stories and one about your life.”

               “I can manage that. And because I’m in a good mood, I’ll throw in another story. On one condition.” Bucky paused. “You have to make the next teacher think you’re the best students since the Disciples. Deal?”

               The group huddled again. They all straightened up after a second. Tony spoke again. “Deal.”

               “Good.” Bucky sat back down. “Sorry to interrupt, sir. Cary on.”

               The counselor jumped a little, surprised to be back in the conversation. “Oh! Thank you!”

               Steve leaned back in his chair, dropping his voice. “You can’t keep bribing them like that.”

               “Why not?” Bucky shrugged. “It gets them to play along, doesn’t it?”

               “Yeah, but they should listen to you because you’re in charge, not because they get something out of it.” Steve urged.

               Bucky pondered the thought. “Yeah, I guess. But it’s easier to take an order if I seems like it benefits you. You shouldn’t do something just because a superior tells you to.”

               Steve could tell he struck a nerve. “I didn’t mean to say that-“

               “No, it’s fine. I’m fine. It’s fine.” Bucky hurried to recover the conversation. “I’m just a little tired.” He yawned for effect.

               “I get that. It was always hard for us to sleep on the first night away.” Steve stretched and got back to work on his masterpiece.

               “Was it?” Bucky focused on the feeling in the back of his mind.

               **

              _“Psssst. Steve. Are you still awake?” Bucky hissed over the edge of the top bunk._

_“It’s hard to sleep with you asking me that every five minutes, Bucky.” Steve whispered back._

_“Are you tired?” Bucky hung over the side so he could see Steve below him._

_Steve shrugged his tiny shoulders. “Not really.”_

_Bucky examined the room. Its other occupants were dead asleep, twisted into positions that couldn’t possibly be comfortable. He jumped down from the top bunk, landing as carefully as he could. “Hey Stevie, do you want to play a card game?”_

_Steve sat up, scooting to the edge of the bed. “Which one?”_

_Bucky pulled a deck out of his bag and made himself comfortable on the other end of Steve’s bed. “I don’t know. Let’s make one up!”_

_“You think we could do that?”_

_“We could try!”_

               **

               Bucky jumped to his feet, slamming his hands down on the table. “Fuck! Oh, sorry! Wow, I am so sorry.” Bucky immediately sat back down, trying not to make eye contact with the frightened counselor. “Jesus, I need to stop doing that.”

               “You ok, boss?” Rhodey turned in his seat.

               “Yeah, I’m fine. I’m just… really excited about this class. Great class.” Bucky tried to play it off. “You know what? I’m going to step outside and find more nature for you kids to glue.”

               Bucky hurried outside, taking a moment to breathe. There may come a day when his memories don’t come back with such a punch, but today was not that day.

               “Bucky? Are you ok?” Bucky jumped. He didn’t hear Steve follow him.

               He took a breath to calm himself. “Yeah, Stevie. I’m fine.”

               Steve laughed, trying to disguise it as disappointment. “Oh, No! Out of all the things you remember, I was hoping that nickname wouldn’t make the cut.”

               Bucky turned to face him. “What, Stevie? Come on, it suited you.”

               “Yeah, when I was four feet tall and eighty pounds soaking wet.” Steve argued. He smiled a bit, stuffing his hands in his pockets. “What did you remember?”

               “I remembered…” Bucky furrowed his brow, trying to collect his thoughts. “I remembered one night when we couldn’t sleep so we decided to make up our own card game.”

               Steve looked up, the smile spreading across his face. “You remember commando cards?”

               Bucky laughed. “Is that what we called it? Good lord, I’m a little afraid to remember the rules.”

               “Don’t worry. it’s not as bad as it sounds. The Commandos was our team’s name.” Steve raised his hands in defense. “And the only reason we got that name is because you dared one of our members to streak across the campsite.”

               “Do you… Do you think you could remind me how to play commando cards tonight?” Bucky asked, strangely nervous.

               Steve looked surprised. “Sure! I mean, if I remember it. We haven’t played it in years. Plus, the ruled never really made sense in the first place. We made up that game when we were eleven.”

               “Still.” Bucky shrugged. “It might help me bring back memories or something. At the very least it would give me something to bribe the kids with.”

               “Yeah, we could pass our nonsense down to the next generation of campers.” Steve chuckled.

               The two of them stood there for a moment, trying not to make eye contact with the other. Steve broke the silence. “We should go back inside. I think we’re breaking for lunch soon.”

               Bucky bowed, making a grand gesture towards the door. “After you, Stevie.”

               Steve shook his head, but couldn’t help laughing. “Jerk.”

               “Punk.”

               *

               Loki had respect for art. Art was unique and inspiring. It used a medium to evoke emotion and connection from a person. THIS was not art. This was a disgrace. And incredibly demeaning. Some of the boys in this group had already started high school, and they were having them glue dirty sticks to cheap paper.

               Still, Loki did his best. Thor was obviously taking it as seriously as a boy of his disposition could, and Loki wasn’t about to be showed up by his brute of a brother. He sat back to admire his finished work, geometric pattern, but no matter how hard he tried it was still a bunch of twigs covered in glue and plastered on construction paper. Not art.

               This didn’t bode well for the crafts portion of the day.

               The two groups made their way back to the cafeteria. Loki purposefully strayed behind, hoping his ally would catch up. He wasn’t disappointed.

               “What did you create from nature?” Tony jogged up, mimicking the counselors nasally voice.

               “Shapes.” Loki held up his creation.

               “Not bad.” Tony nodded. “But not as awesome as… this!” He flicked up his own work of art. It took Loki a second to recognize what it was supposed to be.

               “That’s a nice… robot?” Loki guessed.

               “You’re damn right it is!” Tony smirked, admiring his piece. “I’m gonna send this home and tell my parents how camp is sooooo much fun.”

               Loki didn’t quite understand if he was being serious or sarcastic. His question was answered a moment later when Tony started picking pieces of twig off of his paper and flicking them at his other team members. When the fire was returned, Loki decided it would be best to remove himself from the fray.

               Loki was almost surprised with how easy it was to speak with Tony. Though that might be because Tony was exceptionally talented at starting conversations. Either way, Loki was pleased to have a camp friend for the first time.

               *

               Bucky sat with his kids again at lunch. If he was being honest the only person her wanted to sit with was Steve, but his there was a little tension in the group after the stick incident, so he felt like he should be an adult for once and make sure no other fights start.

               “I don’t care who started it, just know that it ends now.” Bucky stated. “End of discussion.”

               Pietro started. “But-“

               “Nope!” Bucky held up his hands. “End. Of. Discussion. Now eat your vegetables.”

               The group groaned but obeyed.

               Bucky almost laughed at their dejected faces. “Come on, guys. I made you stop throwing sticks at each other. Quit looking like I cancelled summer.”

               “I was winning…” Tony pouted.

               Rhodey scoffed. “Dude, you were, like, third. I was kicking your ass for sure.”

               “Yeah, and Peter had you both beat.” Bruce added. “Who knew he was such a good shot?”

               Peter beamed, eating up the praise.

               Bucky smirked. “You kids… But seriously, eat up. We have either metal work or wood work after this. I’m not really sure. And the last thing we need is someone to get a little dizzy and accidentally cut their finger off.”

               “Oh, some kid did that last year.” Tony added. Rhodey and Bruce nodded solemnly.

               “Yeah…” Bruce trailed off. “That was something that happened.”

               “And let’s not repeat that!” Bucky declared. With that, he stood up and went to empty his tray.

               He got in line, waiting behind a few other counselors. Steve was a little louder in his approach this time, so Bucky wasn’t startled when the giant of a man showed up behind him.

               “So are we working with metal or wood next?” Bucky inquired.

               “Metal. Some kid lost a finger last year in the wood work class, so they’ve decided to cut that program until they can find a safer way to teach it.” Steve explained.

               “I heard… But how is metal work any safer?” Bucky frowned.

               Steve shrugged. “They just heat up the metal and twist it around to make forks. They wear gloves and never actually touch the metal until its cool. The worst thing that can happen is a pretty severe burn but that’s still better than losing a digit.”

               “If you say so.” Bucky shrugged.

               Steve laughed. “You really didn’t pay attention in any of Fury’s lectures, did you?”

               “Surprisingly, I paid little to no attention unless it actually had to do with life or death.” Bucky admitted. “So I learned CPR and all of that stuff, but blocked out the agenda. Good thing I have you, right Stevie?”

               “You’re the worst.” Steve grimaced. “I’m going to start calling you James if you keep calling me Stevie.”

               “Oh, come on! I have to do something to feel better about myself!” Bucky joked. “You out grew and out muscled and out memoried and out everything’ed me in the short time we were separated. I should be able to call you Stevie.”

               “How about this.” Steve challenged “If you can beat me in an arm wrestling match, I’ll let you call me Stevie without any repercussions.”

               “And if I lose?” Bucky continued.

               Steve pondered. “If you lose… Not only do you have to top calling me Stevie, but I get to start calling you Jimmy.”

               Bucky’s face dropped. “Those are pretty steep conditions.”

               “What?” Steve taunted. “You’re not afraid of little Stevie, are you?” He brought his hand up lazily, turning a stretch into a flex.

               “Jesus, Steve. Put those away.” Bucky dropped is voice to a whisper. “This is a gun free environment. And if they find out you’re packing, they might confiscate mine.” Bucky rolled up a sleeve to give Steve a good view of what both army and physical training can do to a person.

               Bucky wasn’t sure, but Steve looked impressed.

               “Looks like the gun show is in town!” Bucky quickly lowered his arms as his kids approached.

               He shrugged. “I was just showing Steve here wat he’s up against.”

               Tony perked up. “Oh! Is this another competition? Because today was looking a little dull.”

               Steve and Bucky exchanged glances before scanning their kids.

               “What do you think?” Bucky asked. Their teams looked equal enough. They had their older kids and their scrawny kids. Though Peter was definitely at a disadvantage. Even the scrawniest kid on Steve’s team would have no trouble beating him.

               “If the kids agree I’m all for making this an official competition.” Steve shrugged.

               “Then let’s go, Stevie!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also, can I get a hands up for whoever is emotionally damaged by the civil war trailers? It's gonna hurt. So bad.


	7. Take My Hand

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My semester is over and everything has settled down, so I'll try to update this more regularly! No promises, but still... I have a lot of emotions about Civil War and this is my therapy.

“Alright, I want a good, clean fight!” Bucky announced. “Any cheating or unsportsmanlike behavior will result in disqualification!”

Bruce and Thor had their hands locked and ready to go. The arm wrestling tournament was underway, with a current tie. Tony volunteered to go first, facing Sam. It was close, but Tony pulled through at the last second.

In the second round, Rhodey faced Phil. That round ended rather dramatically. Tony said something snide and sarcastic that made Rhodey laugh and Phil seized the opportunity to strike.

Bucky was excited for this next round. Thor was clearly the strongest member of the Red Avengers, and Bruce was the power house for his team.

“And…” Bucky held up his good hand, throwing it down with a flourish. “Fight!”

From a distance, it looked like the boys ignored the command. But Bucky could see the strain on their muscles.

These kids were intense. They were evenly matched for a few good seconds. Thor started to get the upper hand, but Bruce took a deep and controlled breath before slamming his opponents hand down.

“Nice, Brucey!” Tony slapped the winner on the back. “Way to pick up Rhodey’s slack!”

“Dude that was entirely your fault.” Rhodey objected.

Steve collected the group. “The score is 2 to 1. Who wants to go next?”

“I’ll go!” Peter jumped up, nearly knocking over his water glass.

Bucky looked at the remaining candidates from the Red Avengers. “What do you think Stevie? Which of your kids can handle the raw power that is Peter Parker?”

Steve chuckled. “Loki, do you want to play this round?”

“I suppose.” Loki smiled slightly. He took his position across from Peter.

Loki looked hesitant. When the match started, Peter was obviously struggling more. Loki looked concerned more than anything, like he was trying to make a decision.

After a moment, Loki made his choice and gently pushed Peter’s hand down to the table.

“Ohhh!” Clint howled. “That ties it up!”

“Don’t get cocky, Spikes.” Tony taunted. “Poor Peter is half the size of everyone here.”

“Hey!” Peter protested. “I’m tough!”

“For sure, Pete!” Tony slung an arm around Peter. “But Loki here has a much longer reach than you. It’s just science at a certain point.”

“Bring it together, kiddos!” Bucky called. “We’re down to our last contestants!”

Clint and Pietro replaced the last pair. Clint smirked. “I’ll go easy on you.”

“I won’t promise the same.” Pietro snapped back.

Bucky held up his hand. “And… Go!”

BAM.

Before anyone cold blink, Clint’s hand hit the table. It took a second to register.

“What?” Pietro shrugged. “You didn’t see that coming?”

The Howling Skulls lost it. Their shouts caught the attention of everyone in the cafeteria.

Phil stood on one of the chairs. “Wait! Wait! It’s not over yet!”

“Buddy, accept your fate.” Tony sighed.

Sam perked up. “No, he’s right! We have one more match!” He pointed to Steve. “Mr. Rogers against Mr. Barnes!”

Rhodey scoffed. “Yeah, but even if Mr. Rogers wins that doesn’t mean your team wins. We’ll just tie.”

“What happens if we tie?” Peter inquired. “Do we both get a point?”

Both teams turned to face their leaders.

“Uh…” Bucky stalled. “We’ll never need to find out. Because there’s no way I’m losing.”

“Ooh, you’re that confident?” Steve laughed. “Then let’s do this!”

*

Steve squared off against Bucky. He was nervous. Not because he thought he would lose or embarrass himself in front of the kids or anything. It was those eyes.

Even as a kid, Bucky’s eyes were intense. All he had to do was look at Steve and he would go along with whatever scheme Bucky had planned.

It wasn’t even that they were frightening, just compelling. It was like looking through ice with water running beneath it. Steve had tried to get the color right for years after he stopped going to camp, but he never could. And he was afraid he would never see those eyes again.

But here they are. Staring at him.

“Go!” Tony shouted, startling Steve out of his thoughts.

“You weren’t kidding about physical therapy.” Steve joked, straining against Bucky.

“You weren’t kidding about teaching P.E.” Bucky shot back, smirking. “Come on, Stevie. Is that all you got?”

Steve almost twitched. He needed Bucky to stop calling him ‘Stevie’. He didn’t _want_ him to, but hearing his childhood crush call Steve by that nickname was too much.

Still, Steve wanted to draw out this moment as long as possible. He could feel Bucky’s strength against his own, their hands fit together perfectly. The teenager in him was blushing.

“You getting tired, Steve” Bucky taunted. “You’re getting a little red. You know, there’s no shame I giving up.”

Steve snapped back to reality. He recovered the ground he lost, tying them back up.

“I’m luring you into a false sense of security.” Steve grins. “I don’t want you feeling like you didn’t put up a fight.”

One of the kids groaned. “Somebody lose already! This is just annoying!”

“Tony, sit down.” Bucky flicked his eyes to his group. “I’m winning.”

“How can you tell? You guys barely moved!” Tony sighed.

“Because of… This!” Bucky snapped his attention back to Steve, a surge of energy rushing through.

Steve barely registered that his hand hit the table. It wasn’t until Bucky was up and howling that Steve realized the match was over.

“Don’t worry, Steve.” Bucky sat back down. “I won’t abuse this nickname power.” He winked before turning back to his group, victorious.

“Do not fret, Mr. Rogers.” Thor boomed. “We’ll win the next contest.”

Steve got his counselor face on. “You bet we will, Thor. They got the battle, we’ll get the war.”

“I’d like to apologize for my part in the loss.” Phil stepped forward.

“It’s really not a big deal. We’ll get the next one.” Steve clapped the kid on the back.

Somewhere in the cafeteria, Fury spoke through a megaphone. “Clean up, the next round of classes starts in ten minutes!”

“You heard the man!” Bucky prompted. “Move out, Howling Skulls!”

The kids trailed out, with the Red Avengers following. Bucky hung back a second.

“Don’t worry, Steve.” He nudged. “If you really don’t want me calling you by that nickname I won’t.”

Steve chuckled. “No, it’s fine. It’s not a bad name, just a little embarrassing. I mean, I’m a grown man. ‘Stevie’ doesn’t exactly fit.”

Bucky shrugged. “I’m a grown man, too, and you’re still calling me ‘Bucky’. I guess we’re the type of guys who don’t outgrow nicknames.”

“I guess.” Steve smiled. Up ahead, a loud argument broke out between two of Bucky’s kids.

“Jesus, I can’t leave them alone for ten seconds.” Bucky jogged to catch up.

*

               Metalwork was stupid. The teacher didn’t trust any of the kids to use the furnace or the grinder or anything but the clamp. So basically all they did was watch the instructor make a dozen little rods that he then heated up and allowed the kids to twist with the clamp.

               By the end of class, every kid had their own twisty piece of metal to wield proudly. Yippee.

               Bucky tried to make it interesting by daring the kids to see how twisty they could get it before it either broke or the instructor told them ‘That’s enough’, but even that wasn’t much fun.

               He and Steve led the way to the next event. Which Bucky didn’t remember.

               “Where are we going?” Bucky pondered.

               “Horseback riding.” Steve replied. “And then we have a hike, and then dinner, and a campfire get-together.”

               Bucky sighed. “That sounds awful. We don’t have to sing songs, do we?”

               Steve smirked. “You bet we do. Either that, or a skit.”

               “Any way we can turn that into a competition?”

               “We still haven’t decided the stakes.” Steve reminded. “I think we should figure those out before we have any more competitions.”

               “’Yeah, you’re right.” Bucky agreed. “Got any bright ideas?”

               He frowned. “I don’t want it to be too dangerous. I’m thinking, like, losing team has to wake up early and jump in the lake while it’s freezing cold. Or the losing team does all of the last day clean-up for the other.”

               “Those are good… did we have any bets like this when we were campers?” Bucky inquired.

               Steve stopped, searching his brain. “Yes.” He kept waking. “When we were both sixteen our team had a running competition, and whoever lost had to climb the tree nearest to our cabin and leave a pair of underwear.”

               “Wow. That’s really gross.” Bucky chuckled. “I think I’m glad I don’t remember that.”

               “Yeah…” Steve grimaced. “Especially since out of our cabin mates lost so often he ran out of underwear.”

               Bucky laughed. “Yeah, that’s awful. Let’s not make our kids do that.”

               “We’ll tell them the options and let them decide.” Steve chuckled.

               Behind them, the kids started shouting. “Look! Horses!”

               “Is riding a horse like riding a bike?” Bucky almost whispered to Steve.

               “I can only imagine it is.” Steve shrugged.

               “Great.” Bucky huffed. “Because I don’t remember how to do either.”

               “Actually, I don’t think we have to ride.” Steve offered. “I think we just stand outside of the corral and make sure the boys aren’t being stupid.”

               “Oh.” Bucky frowned. “Well alright, then.”

               “Aww, were you looking forward to riding horses?” Steve started. “I’m sure if you want they’ll –“

               “No.” Bucky stopped him. “No. I don’t remember why, but I remember I don’t like horses.”

               “I don’t think you got that from camp.” Steve shrugged. “At least, I don’t recall any reason for you not to.”

               As the approached the corral, the instructors trotted over on well-groomed steeds.

               “Well howdy, campers! Y’all ready to ride some horses?” The man drawled.

               “Sir, yes sir!” Tony started, snapping to attention. The other Skulls followed in suit.

               “Alright then! If I could have one group follow me to the stables and the others stay here with this lovely lady,” The female instructor tipped her hat, “Then we can start!”

               “Kiddos, why don’t we go to the stables first?” Bucky suggested.

               “Sure thing, boss.” Rhodey nodded.

               The cowboy pulled up next to Bucky. “You don’t have to come with if you don’t wanna. I got plenty of counselors to watch over these youngsters.”

               “I don’t know, maybe I’ll just watch.” Bucky sighed.

               The cowboy leaned down to whisper to Bucky. “I’m just gonna have them muck the stalls. I don’t think you want to be around for that.”

               “You are correct!” Bucky chuckled. “But I’ll stick around out here in case you need me. Let me know how they are, ok?”

               “Sure thing, partner.” The cowboy tipped his hat before leading the boys towards the stalls.

               Bucky moseyed over to Steve, standing and watching as his kids were brought into the corral. “Want to find a nice place and sit down? We’re going to be here a while.”

               “I’ll follow you.” Steve ended with a flourish, gesturing towards a shaded bench.

               It was a nice day. The sun was high in the sky; there was enough of a breeze to cool off with; there were clouds drifting around… Bucky couldn’t remember a more perfect day.

               Steve sat next to him on the bench. Even sitting down, he was a tall man. Bucky didn’t expect that for some reason.

               A memory was starting to rise, just beneath the surface. The nice day, sitting next to Steve, but this memory didn’t feel happy. Not entirely.

               “You don’t get many days like this back in the city.” Steve noted.

               That’s all it took.

***

               _“Is it bad that I don’t want to go back to the city?” Bucky asked, turning to the shrimp of a kid next to him._

_“Nah, I know what you mean.” Steve said. “I feel like I can actually breathe out here. Unless I’m around the horses, that is.”_

_“I told you to stay away.” Bucky shook his head. “Every year you get so excited and ever year they kick up dirt and hay and you get an asthma attack.”_

_“Yeah, well, that won’t happen anymore.” Steve almost whispered._

_Bucky nudged his friend. “Come on; don’t go all mopey on me. I mean, just because it’s our last day EVER doesn’t mean we have to be sad about it, right?”_

_“I’m gonna miss this place.” Steve frowned._

_“Yeah, me too.” Bucky sighed. “I thought about coming back as a counselor, but you have to be eighteen to supervise the lessons and twenty- one to lead any of the groups.”_

_“I think I want to come back.” Steve straightened up. “Maybe not soon, but if I ever grow out of this awkwardness I might.”_

_“Yeah… Yeah!” Bucky got excited about the idea. “I think that would be awesome! We could be counselors together!”_

_“Really? You’d want to come back when we’re twenty- one?” Steve’s eyes lit up._

_“Well not then…” Bucky stopped. “I’m enlisting in the army when I turn eighteen, and I probably won’t be out for a while…”_

_“Oh… Right…” Steve sank down into the bench._

_“But after I get out, I’ll let you know and we can both be counselors, ok?” Bucky slung an arm around Steve, shaking him out of his sour mood._

_“You promise?” Steve looked up with big eyes. Bucky felt his heart beat a little faster._

_“I mean… I’ll try my best.” Bucky took his arm back. “I don’t plan on dying in combat, but I don’t want to make any promises I can’t keep…”_

_“You’ll still write to me, right?” Steve glared._

_“Sure, buddy!” Bucky laughed to break the tension. “Did you think we had to stop being pen pals just because we aren’t camp pals anymore?”_

_“No!” Steve nudges Bucky. “I’m just… I’m just worried we’ll never see each other again, that’s all. You’re sort of my best friend.”_

_Bucky smiled. “You’re my best friend too, Stevie. And don’t worry. I’m gonna get a job, and then I’ll buy a car, and then I can drive to you and we can have start our own summer camp. Just the two of us.”_

_“I’d like that…” Steve dropped his head down, curling up._

_A commotion behind them caught Bucky’s attention. “Looks like the busses are here. I guess this is goodbye, Stev-“_

_As Bucky turned to face Steve, he was met with lips. Steve’s hands brought Bucky’s face closer, smashing their mouths together with desperation. Before Bucky knew what happened, it was over. Steve was up and running towards the busses._

_Bucky wanted to follow him, but his legs weren’t quite working. Stevie just kissed him. Steve Rogers just kissed him. And all Bucky could think about was how he wished it lasted longer._

_But there he was, sitting alone. The sky was blue, the breeze was nice, and he kissed Steve Rogers. His first real crush. It wasn’t quite the kiss he would have hoped for, but hopefully it was the start of something great._

_He couldn’t remember a more perfect day._

***

               Somewhere, a cowboy shouted directions, snapping Bucky back.

               “Fuck…” He whispered, holding his head in his hands.

               “Bucky? Are you ok?”

               Bucky had almost forgot he was next to Steve. The Steve Rogers. “Um, yeah.” He stammered. I’m fine. Just a memory thing.”

               “Was it a bad one?” Steve looked genuinely concerned.

               Bucky took a second to consider. “No. No, I’d say it was pretty alright. It just ended at an odd point.”

               “What do you mean?”

               Bucky sat up so he could talk with his hands. “Like, the memory is point A. Then something happened that lead me to my current position at point C. So I don’t remember everything in between that made things the way they are now.”

               “Oh.” Steve took a second to process. “What did you remember?”

               “Um…” Bucky thought about his answer. Would it be a mistake to tell Steve he remembered? Whatever happened in between must have been pretty bad for them to lose contact. It would be easier to pretend he didn’t remember that part, especially if it would keep Steve from feeling uncomfortable. “I remembered that we were pen pals.” He stated.

               “Oh!” Steve smiled. “We were! Ever since your first year of camp.”

               “When did that stop?” Buck asked.

               “I want to say when we were both sixteen. Right after camp ended that year. I moved and lost your address.” Steve explained. He couldn’t quite look Bucky in the eye.

               “Really?” Bucky questioned. “That’s it?”

               “Yep.” Steve stood up, shoving his hands in his pockets. “Do you want to watch the kids? My legs are starting to fall asleep.”

               “Yeah, sure.” Bucky got up, following Steve to the corral. If Steve wanted to pretend the kiss never happened, Bucky wasn’t going to push it.

               *

               Thankfully, that day’s hike wasn’t life threatening. The boys complained about how long it was, but that was fine.

               Dinner that night was quick. Everyone was excited to go to the giant campfire outside, where the counselors were setting up s’more stations.

               “I’m gonna eat, like, twenty.” Rhodey started.

               “Oh yeah?” Tony challenged. “I’m gonna eat, like, a million. And I’ll still have room for some more s’mores!”

               “I’m gonna eat six.” Peter stated, his face deadly serious. The table laughed.

               Bucky patted his back. “Way to be realistic, Parker.”

               “I’m going to laugh when you all get sick.” Bruce cautioned.

               Pietro nodded. “I can’t eat more than two of those things without feeling like I’m going to throw up.”

               Tony scoffed. “Lightweights.”

               “We’ll see how you feel tomorrow, Stark.” Pietro scowled.

               Tony scoffed and took off to the station, Peter and Rhodey close behind. Bruce shrugged and followed at a more leisurely pace.

               The fire was blazing, large enough to accommodate for the number of kids and counselors. It lit up the clearing, casting a warm glow everywhere. Bucky felt nostalgic, though he couldn’t remember why. It might have something to do with a certain pair of blue eyes staring at him…

               Steve saved him a spot near the edge of the clearing. Once he got Bucky’s attention, he waved.

               “Is this bringing back any old memories?” Steve leaned in, nudging Bucky.

               “Not yet. But the night is still young. Even if we aren’t.” Bucky teased, noting how many s’mores Tony had already devoured.

               Steve huffed. “Speak for yourself. I’m in my prime.”

               “Are you serious? You think you could put away as many s’mores as those gluttons?” Bucky gestured to Tony, now accompanied by one of Steve’s kids.

               “As a matter of fact, I think I could! I could eat more than you, that’s for sure.” Steve crossed his arms, letting the challenge sink in.

               “Can you handle losing twice in one day, Stevie?” Bucky emphasized the nickname, drawing it out.”

               “Can you handle the stomach ache you’re going to get trying to beat me, Jimmy?” Steve raised an eyebrow.

               Bucky pointed. “That right there? That’s a declaration of war. It’s on.”

*

               Steve watched as Bucky stomped away, gathering the necessary ingredients. He almost felt a little guilty. Bucky almost certainly didn’t remember the last time he challenged Steve to an eating contest.

               Still, with any luck, he would remember by the time they were done. It was once of Steve’s favorite memories of them in camp, even though it ended with them both throwing up. It was the first time they were together in camp, and the first time they really talked. They hung around in the bathroom for hours, making sure their stomachs were purged before returning to their cabins.

               They talked the whole time, getting to know each other. Steve learned that Bucky had a sister; Bucky learned that Steve had a secret pet frog he hid from his mother. Steve learned that Bucky was short for Buchanan; Bucky learned Steve’s extensive list of allergies and conditions.

               Steve learned he might be attracted to boys. And all little Steve could do at the time is hope Bucky never learned that.

               Steve was startled from his trip down memory lane by Bucky tossing a paper plate in his lap.

               “So is this a race or a quantity challenge?” Bucky fell back onto the log, his own plate ready.

               Steve blinked a few times to collect his thoughts. “It would have to be quantity. The challenge was to see who could eat more, not faster.”

               “Right you are!” Bucky agreed, sticking a few marshmallows on his wire prong. “When does the competition end?”

               “When one of us throws up. Or when we run out of marshmallows.” Steve suggested. He searched Bucky’s face, hoping the old rules would trigger something but… nothing. Bucky’s eyes didn’t lose focus, his nose didn’t scrunch up, and there was no cursing.

               Damn it. Steve would have to try a little harder. So he got to work on his own s’mores, ready to eat as many as it took to get Bucky to remember.

*

               Bucky was close to breaking. He could feel his stomach turn as he took another bite. If he was being honest, he didn’t know if his stomach was turning because of the s’mores or because Steve had a smudge of chocolate right below his lip and Bucky’s imagination got a little carried away thinking of ways to get it off.

               “You got a little…” Bucky points at his own mouth. Steve’s tongue flicks out to catch the stray piece.

               “Did I get it?” Steve wipes the area with his hand for extra measure.

               Bucky clears his throat, telling himself it’s the marshmallow creating that lump. “You got it.”

               The pair sets on roasting up another round. They were tied so far. The kids had all abandoned their prongs and huddled in their groups, trying to decide what skit or song to present.

               Bucky and Steve had moved closer to the fire, making it easier to pile up the s’mores.

               Bucky watched as Tony directed the team. “Did we ever win any of these things?” Bucky asked, leaning forward.

               “No, we never really took this seriously.” Steve shrugged. “One time we just sang “Eye of the Tiger” as loud as we could.”

               “Now that sounds awesome.” Bucky chuckled.

               “It was pretty great. Oh! Whoops!” Steve’s attention faltered as his marshmallow caught on fire. He brought the prong back, trying to blow it out, but instead it just fell off.

               Without thinking, Bucky caught it. He knew if he didn’t it would have landed on Steve’s lap, and Steve’s thighs were hot enough without literal fire. At least he was smart enough to catch it with his left hand.

               “Jesus, Buck!” Steve smacked the smoldering lump out of Bucky’s hand.

               “I can’t tell if you were cursing or saying my name, but either way I’m fine.” Bucky shook some of the ash from his hand. A second later Steve grabbed it, holding it towards the light to examine Bucky’s palm.

               “You’re not fine. I can already see a blister forming… Does it hurt?” Steve asked, carefully studying the damage.

               Bucky took his hand back, looking at it for himself. Yikes. “I really don’t feel it. But, I mean, I’ve had a lot of nerve damage with this arm, so…”

               “Still, we should get that looked at. Let’s get you over to the nurse’s station.” Steve got up, abandon his plate and ushering Bucky to do the same.

               “Natasha is already down here.” Bucky gestured to where the nurse stood, chatting with Fury.

               “I know enough first aid to treat a burn.” Steve insisted. “And I’m sure she didn’t lock it. Come on.”

               Steve took Buck by his good wrist, leading him away. Bucky couldn’t help but follow.

*

Bucky was starting to feel the delayed pain once they reached the nurse’s cabin. The blister was turning into something nasty.

Steve insisted on treating up, running Bucky’s hand under cool water and carefully rubbing some sort of disinfectant on it. Bucky watched him the whole time.

They were so close. If he really wanted to, he could reach out and close the distance between him and Steve in a split second. If he really wanted to, he could just angle his head and kiss Steve right then and there. And he really wanted to. But he didn’t know if Steve wanted that, too.

He knew he could clear a lot of stuff up if he just talked to Steve. He could hear his therapist telling him over and over to communicate his feelings to avoid any unnecessary distress, but knowing and practicing were two very different things.

What if he told Steve he remembered? What if Steve viewed it as a mistake? There had to be a reason they didn’t stay in touch, what happened between their last moment and now?

“Was I an asshole to you or something?” Bucky blurted, breaking the silence.

“What?” Steve looked up from wrapping Bucky’s hand.

“When we were younger. After camp ended. Did I do something that made you want to stop talking to me?” Bucky explained.

“No!” Steve defended. “You didn’t do anything wrong, you were a great friend.”

“But something did happen, right?” Bucky continued. “Because I’m pretty sure I had you address memorized, so I’m not buying that you lost mine. And if you’re trying to protect me from something bad I did I want to know.”

“Bucky.” Steve started, his eyes piercing. “You didn’t do anything wrong. It was me, ok?

Bucky broke his gaze. Steve shifted uncomfortably before continuing. “I got scared. I was worried you wouldn’t… like me outside of camp, that we wouldn’t get along so well if we weren’t forced to be around each other.”

“That’s it?” Bucky urged. That wasn’t enough. Bucky wanted the truth. He wanted Steve to say what really scared him so Bucky could tell him how he really felt and they could pick up where they left off l those years ago, when Bucky should’ve gone after Steve. There had to be a reason Steve didn’t want to see him anymore.

Steve took a seat next to him. “That’s it.  So I stopped reading your letters, and I didn’t give you my new address, and when you turned eighteen I assumed you joined the army and would forget all about me.”

“You got your wish.” Bucky teased dryly.

“Buck, I didn’t men it like that.”

Bucky wrapped an arm around Steve’s massive shoulders, squeezing for a second before letting his arm drop. “I know, buddy. I’m messing with you.”

Steve relaxed a little, clutching his stomach. “I think I’m gonna be sick if I don’t lie down.” Steve let himself fall back on the cot. Bucky smiled. It wasn’t the first time Steve got sick from s’mores.

*

_“This was a terrible idea.” Steve leaned against the bathroom stall sliding to the floor._

_Bucky sat down next to him, equally regretting their decision. “I’ll never eat another s’more for as long as I live.”_

_“Me neither.”_

_The boys had already rejected their stomachs into the toilets, now they just needed some peace to recover._

_“Why do you want everyone to call you Bucky?” Steve asked._

_Bucky narrowed his eyes, wondering if he could trust Steve with that sort of information. He’d only known Steve for a few days, and their longest interaction had been the argument hours before that lead to the eating contest. He sighed. Once you throw up together, you might as well trust each other._

_“My middle name is Buchanan. And I hated every variation of James, so Bucky was the only option.” Bucky shrugged._

_“Then you would hate my frog. I named him Jimmy.” Steve admitted. His had shot up a moment later. “But don’t tell my mom I have him, ok? It’s a secret!”_

_Steve’s head his against the stall again with a low thud. He groaned and rubbed his stomach. Bucky had the oddest urge to reach out and take Steve’s little hand in his own. Would that be weird? Is it weird to hold hands? He sees older people holding hands all the time. He holds his mother’s hand when they’re out, and his mother and father hold hands all the time._

_He gets the courage to inch his fingers a little closer to Steve’s hand, but before he can reach them, poor Steve is back in the stall, losing what was left of his lunch._

*

Bucky lets out a deep sigh. He blinks a few times.

“What did you remember?”

He almost forgot Steve was still next to him. “How did you know I was remembering something?”

Steve shrugs. “You make a face. It’s distinct. But you didn’t curse this time.”

“I’m getting better.” Bucky notices Steve’s hand. So close to his own. If he just moved his pinky they would be touching.

“So what did you remember?” Steve asks again.

“The first time we had a s’mores eating contest.”

Steve broke out the biggest grin yet, his pearly teeth shining from ear to ear. “Really?”

“How did I forget throwing up in the bathroom all night? And how did I let you talk me into doing it again the next night?” Bucky chuckled, swatting at Steve’s arm.

“Because that’s what friends do!” Steve chuckled.

“Yeah…” Bucky ducked his head, aware his smile was more somber that anything else. “Friends.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Seriously, though. Civil War. Help.  
> Also, if anyone has some tips on how to format this stuff better, I'm all ears. Copy and Pasting from Word isn't working as well as I want it to.


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